On a Leash
by Moonlight Shadow4
Summary: (AU)(rated for language)Imagine this from Inuyasha's point of view....you've been turned into a dog. A real, yapping, people-don't-understand-you mutt. What to do when you're in the pound? Enter Kagome and let the story begin....
1. Guardian

_Disclaimer: _Well, here's my obligatory disclaimer. No, I don't own Inuyasha. I just so happen to like to entertain myself at his expense. The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: No, I haven't given up any of my other fics. I'm just currently in a small slump on a chapter for "On Vacation". Anyway, enjoy!

_Chapter One: __Guardian _

                _"That…bitch…I can't take it anymore! Bound like this for fifty years…. Wonder what the fuck she'll do when she realizes I ain't here…. Heh, that's her problem, not mine. I've got my own to worry about. Oh, hell yeah…."_

He had to be quiet, or else that bitch would wake up.

Did she think this was funny? Did she enjoy torturing him? Was this the only way she'd been able to 'control' him? The answer was 'yes!' to all of the above.__

                This would show her…. Now, how to get out? Well…if he kept creeping down the stairs noiselessly like this, he would be in the clear…. Shit, she moaned!

He froze. An angst heartbeat banged against his rib cage.

Was she…awake?

Listening more intently, he found that she wasn't and hoped to the gods she'd stay asleep.

                Still moving furtively down the staircase, he made it to the ground floor of the house. Running as fast as he could, Inuyasha leapt out of the open window of the kitchen and sped off into the night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                "All right, miss, these are the dogs," the animal rescue leaguer was telling the girl, walking in the center strip of cement.

Lined on the sides of the band of free floor were chain link cages' faces. Numerous doggy mugs stared at the new passerby, tongues hanging out as they panted. They wagged their tails insanely in the hopes of earning brownie points in the girl's heart, hopefully scoring a new home. The place was abuzz with barking and yipping and yapping.

The girl strolled behind the man, scrutinizing the kennels she past. Big dogs, little dogs; dark dogs and… "Wow, that one there! He's beautiful!" Kagome exclaimed stepping closer to another kennel.

Within it laid a dog that bore an expression of sheer ennui in his golden orbs, such an odd but beautiful color for eyes. Very rich and deep; Kagome would swear that they had a passionate flair. The dog had a white coat, silvery-white, in fact. It was moderately long-haired, and had ears that were perched up, rather than floppy. It was fairly large, most probably sinewy. Currently, it was lying on its side, gaping vacantly at the metallic ceiling of the kennel. That is, until the hoary dog's eyes lit upon the girl.

"Hi, there," she cooed to him softly as she knelt before the cage.

In turn, the white dog raised his chops, revealing long, pearly white—no doubt sharp—teeth, and growled, rising to all fours. The muscles of his shoulders bunched up as he leaned forward, his snout just touching chain link gate of his confinement. He emitted a few mighty barks, which made the floor the girl was kneeling on rumble. He continued to snarl, staring intensely into the girl's cobalt eyes. That would teach her to bother him.

"Uh, miss," the balding animal rescue leaguer hustled up by her, placing an anxious hand on her shoulder, "you really don't want that one. He's not exactly the friendly sort." He crouched beside her to whisper very faintly, "He's going to be put down soon."

Her eyes grew as she turned to him. "Oh?"

The dog snorted. _"I just wanna be left the fuck alone," _he said, though to everyone else it sounded like woofing. He lowered his chops and flopped onto his belly, gawking at the girl, paws stretched out in front of him. _"Hmph, that should show her not to bug me."_

He was more than surprised to hear her say, "Well, for some reason, I really like that dog. Could you open the cage?"

"Are you insane?!" the man shouted, hopping up down, now upright again. "Miss, this dog will kill you the first chance he gets! He's violent, that one, always getting into fights with the others."

"I don't know," she murmured serenely, tilting her head as she got another view of the animal. "I don't think he'll attack me, and maybe the other dogs started it. You know, kind of like doggy provocation? Maybe one of them barked at him in the wrong tone."

_"Hell, yeah!__ They start it…not my fault that they keep losing." _The dog in discussion sat up, mildly interested as he tipped his head, his ears flicking around a bit.

The man shook his head and, against his better judgment, unlocked the door of the cage.

The girl reached her hand in slowly, making little clicking noises with her tongue; the dog continued to back up, raising his chops once more as his rump hit the back of the cage. "It's ok," she murmured softly. "I won't hurt you, see?"

He snapped at her fingers. _"Go away, you dumb bitch! I don't need you!" _This female looked too close to the slut that made him this way….

However, she didn't move her hand, but continued to reach out to him. She leaned in a tiny bit more and whispered, "I don't if you were listening, boy, but they said they are going to put you down." She watched as the dog's eyes grew in understanding and shock. "So, either you die here or you come with me and you'll have a home."

Inuyasha stared at her for moment, contemplating. Finally, he begrudgingly slinked over to her and lowered his head.

Delighted, the girl's fingers rubbed behind his ears gently. "Come on out then," she instructed as she got up, allowing the dog to move out of the cage. She took the leash from the frightened rescue leaguer and clipped it to the collar already on his neck. "Hmm? A collar, but no tags?"

"That's right," the man replied uneasily, watching the dog; he had a slightly evil glint in those strange-colored eyes. "You just need to take him up front and pay for him."

The teenager nodded. "Ok. Come on, boy." She tugged on the leash and he reluctantly followed her through the double metal doors.

Other dogs they passed yapped from their cells, mocking Inuyasha. _"Get back to normal, mutt!"_ was a favorite. He simply shook his head at their stupidity. He was getting out of this hell hole and they weren't…even if he was going with this wench.

The two made it to the front where the edgy animal rescue leaguer rang up the cost on the dog and got the girl's signature. "Miss," he began, "honestly, why do you want a dog like this? He's crude and insolent."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I just like him, is all. For some reason, there's something very curious about him, and the way he looks at things; he seems almost human. I need a good guard dog anyway."

_"You got the 'almost human' part right, girl,"_ Inuyasha quietly woofed.

The man shook his head. "Well, he's all yours. May the gods protect you from that maniac."

Inuyasha snarled and snapped at him. Satisfied when the guy virtually leapt out his boxers, he came when the girl tugged on the leash. He was led through the double glass doors of the animal shelter and into the late afternoon sunlight. He'd been in that place—that prison—for nearly a month. Felt like so much longer. The girl stooped down by him and peered at him. _"What?" _he barked, slightly annoyed.

"Hmm…well, to be fair, since I'm your new owner," Inuyasha snorted when the girl said that, "it's only reasonable to say I have a cat already, so no eating him. Besides, he's really fat anyway. I'm Kagome." She gave the dog a pat on the head, which made him surprised.

He came close to barking, _"Hey, stupid! Don't do that!"_ but decided against it. She was rather tender to his ears and an ear rub was not something to back away from….

"I'm pretty sure you already had a name, huh?"

_"Uh, yeah!__ It's Inuyasha. INUYASHA!"_ He danced around her on all fours, yipping at her.

"Stupid question, I know. So, let's see. What to name you…unless you liked your old name…" Kagome thought aloud.

_"Yes, I happen to like my name very much, thank you!"_

She peered at him again. "You're very prideful, that I can tell. But from the way the guy inside was describing you, you like a bit of a terror. Like a demon, or something."

_"Yes! Yes! Ding, ding, ding! Tell her what's she's won!"_ Inuyasha ran circles around her. _"You think I'm human and you think I'm demon. You are right, girl, I'm both! I'm hanyou! A half-demon!"_

Kagome laughed. "Ok, so…if I named you Fluffy, you'd probably try to kill me."

_"Damn straight!"_

"So…how about…Inuyasha?"

_"YES! YES!" _At that, his jubilation hit peak and the boy-in-a-dog-suit couldn't resist jumping on her any longer. She landed with her back on the grass, and he wagged his tail like crazy. The girl giggled as he started sniffing her _"Good girl! She got it! Maybe living with this wench won't be the most horrible thing I'll have to do. Hell, at least I still have my name. Mm…." _He took in her scent, a doggy smile growing over his muzzle. _"She smells nice, like flowers and herbs…."_

Kagome still giggled when she finally managed to push the massive, white dog off her. "All right, it's settled then. Your name is Inuyasha."

He wagged his tail all the more, glad to have his name.

The girl gave a small tug on the leash and began leading him back home. It was a cool fall day, and it felt really nice to be out for a walk. Inuyasha had almost forgotten the sensation of wind and the aromas that would waft upon those updrafts. Being coped up with those normal dogs was maddening. Gods, they were stupid!

The dog-demon-turned-house-pet trotted along on the chainlink leash, the clip over the loop on his black leather collar. He looked at the girl; unlike normal dogs, he wasn't color blind and could tell easily what her distinct appearance was. Ebony hair, cobalt eyes, a green sailor uniform, white socks, and brown loafers. He tilted his head as the jogged to the bottom of a large set of steps. _"Hey. Why'd we stop?"_

Kagome peered down at her pet and smiled. "This is where you'll be living for now on. The Sunset Shrine, run by the Higurashi family…."

Inuyasha whimpered. _"Ah, hell, I have to live in a fucking SHRINE?!"_

She knelt down by him and stroked his ears, which instantly made him overlook his earlier complaints. "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think Gramps has _any _spiritual power whatsoever." She giggled as she watched her dog wag his tail. "I think it'll be ok for you here, Inuyasha. I mean, we haven't ever had a dog before because of all the stuff at the shrine…but with the new item we have to keep protected…." Sighing, Kagome trailed off, having ceased massaging his ears.

_"What are you keeping protected?"_ He perked up his dog ears in interest, laying a paw on her knee.

Shaking her head, the girl merely grinned again. "Anyway, you are my present for my birthday. I'm fifteen today, boy."

_"Don't 'boy' me you stupid—ok, call me whatever you like just don't stop the rubbing of the ears," _Inuyasha moaned happily as he leaned against Kagome's legs. _If the wench can keep up with this treatment…I might just consider liking her… _he thought.

Giving him a final pat, the girl gingerly slid him off her lap and stood up. "Let's go." Together, they jogged up the steps.

_"Gods, those stairs seem a lot longer and steeper than I ever remember temple steps to be," _Inuyasha huffed as he trotted on all fours with Kagome. After what seemed like forever to the dog-demon, they finally made their way to the stone landing. There stood the traditional building that where people gathered to pray. There were smaller, similar buildings on either side that probably housed little keepsakes for 'good luck' and junk like that. As the pair stepped closer, Inuyasha spotted a shrine that had been turned into a home.

"So, what do you think of the grounds? Plenty of places to run? There's a small grove over on the left," Kagome said, pointing. She led him over to the trees, figuring he'd want to do his business—as he'd marked his whole way to the house.

Inuyasha sniffed around. _"Sigh, I can't believe I've been demoted to this but, what can I say? When you gotta go, you gotta go." _He smirked evilly, slinking over to the god-tree.

The girl spotted him. "No! Not the Goshinboku!" she cried, trying to force the words out as she yanked on the leash.

The dog persisted and marked it. He gave her a look of sheer cocky pleasure as he trotted over to another tree that he deemed worthy for business.

Kagome waited, releasing an exasperated. "You're such a monster."

_"I'm a demon, wench, a demon."_

She waggled her head from side to side as she dragged him over to the mini-shrine. "In here, there are many costly artifacts and stuff. Your job is to protect all of it, Inuyasha. Well, that," she grinned, "and be a good pet."

He snorted. _"Keh, I'm not someone's 'pet' you stupid girl." _He scurried alongside of her as they made their way to the slab in front of the side door of the house. _"But this petting thing REALLY isn't all that bad." _Inuyasha's pink tongue hung out as he panted. His amber eyes flicked over his new home. _"But, I wonder…what exactly am I guarding? Is it anything important?"_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Ok, new fic. Same rules: RR! (Read and Review!!) I need reviews, people! I haven't been getting many lately, which doesn't encourage me to write. Anyways, as you can see, Inuyasha's dialogue is done in Italics. If you can't see the Italics, just go and figure that Kagome still can't understand him. If it doesn't have quotation marks around the Italics, it's one of Inuyasha's thoughts. Please read my other fics: "The Mysterious Little Visitor", "On Vacation", "Shikon High" and I have some one shots under the name "Hugs and Kisses (And Other One Shots)".

Inuyasha: Why me?

What was that doggy? All I heard was "woof, woof!" Are you hungry?

Inuyasha: NO! Moron! I want to be back to my normal self.

Deal with it…I wonder if Mrs. Higurashi will send you to Obedience School…. grins evilly

Inuyasha: Oh, gods…help….

In any case, I'll be working on a fic. Till then, ja ne!

Moonlight Shadow


	2. Meeting the Family

_Chapter Two: __Meeting the Family_

                Being torn away from the mini-shrine, Inuyasha trotted after Kagome, taking frequent, backwards glances. _What the hell is in there?_ He didn't get time ponder. He was led up onto a stone landing where the girl removed her loafers and gently tucked them away from the elements.

                She smiled at him as she slid open the backdoor to her home. Seated in this room, presumably a dining room/living room was a young boy with black hair and dark brown eyes. "Hey, Souta," she called out to the child on the floor with a big, fat cat in his lap.

                "Hey, Kagome! Happy birthday!" Feline forgotten, he jumped up—the animal landing with a comical belly flop and thump—and hugged his sister round the waist.

                She giggled, heeling the pooch at her side with a firm tug on the chain link leash; Inuyasha obediently sat on his rump. _They really must've of thought he was terrible if they gave me such a strong leash…. _With one arm, she embraced her little brother. "Thanks. Where's Mom and Gramps?" Her cobalt eyes scanned the room for the aforementioned family members.

                Releasing his sister, Souta replied, "I think they're in the kitchen talking. I was playing with Buyo."

                _"Buyo?"_ Inuyasha woofed quietly, tipping his head in question. Ocher orbs rested on the cat now sprawled over the length of the couch. _"You mean that corpulent fur ball has a name?"_ He ceased his solitary interrogation with a snort when he found himself eye level with the young boy. _"What?" _he huffed.

                "Wow, Sis. What a cool looking dog!" Souta exclaimed gently scratching the dog on the head for a moment.

                Sighing, Inuyasha let the kid do as he pleased; he was being fairly mild, after all. _I normally don't like people touching me, especially not the ears but…maybe I'm getting soft from being in this form so long…._ Deciding that was the reason on which he'd allowed the wench to caress his precious, fuzzy triangles, he walked along with her when prompted to do so, the boy trailing not far behind.

                The demon-turned-doggy found the carpet nice against his paws as he was taken to an adequate sized kitchen where an old man in priest's garb—he smelled kind of funny—and a kind-faced woman sat across from him at the table. White tile lined the floor, and the room looked like any other kitchen with wood cabinets and white counters.

                "Oh, he's adorable, Kagome," the woman said, rising from her seat.

                The girl smiled. "Isn't he though?"

_"Keh, I am not adorable…."_

"Mom, Gramps, Souta, I want you all to meet Inuyasha."

                "Hello, Inuyasha," Mama murmured, leaning over to peer at the dog, hands resting on her thighs. "He's got such dazzling eyes and coat."

                The hanyou's ego, having been fed, puffed him self up and did his cute act which consisted of rolling on his back, standing on his hind legs to shake, and doing the ever-popular head-tilt. _Hey, it's not like they understand much else…they haven't an idea what I'm saying…. Besides, what's wrong with getting a compliment…?_ His tail wagged happily as his pink tongue hung out while he panted in his seated position.

                Gramps, after a few seconds of apprehension, patted the new pet with a smile.

                Since he couldn't do much else in this form, Inuyasha went with the flow; no reason to snap at these people. They all seemed nice enough, even if they lived in a shrine. It'd been a while since he'd gotten any real attention, so why spoil it? No one would ever know he'd enjoyed it. _"It's not like I've got much hope getting this collar off any time soon…." _He sighed softly to himself as all but Kagome went back to their normal doings, mutterings of a small birthday party flying about the room. _"If I could fucking talk at least, I could tell this wench to remove this wretched thing but…nope…."_

"Come on, Inuyasha," she cheerfully bubbled, leading him out of the room and up a flight of stairs.

                _"Yeah, yeah.__ Coming, girl."_

                She opened the door to a bedroom—he figured it was hers as the girl's scent was all over the place—and he peeked around, edging in a bit. The walls where pretty bare; a bookshelf sat in one corner with a creeper plant on top and a few knickknacks. There was a desk with some more school books laying on it in addition to a pencil holder. Against a wall, a window not far off to the left—from his perspective—was a bed with pink coverlets and a couple pillows.

                "This is my room. You're going to staying in here with me." Kagome knelt down beside Inuyasha and unclipped the leash from his black leather collar; it looked almost scaly. She began rubbing behind his ears vigorously, but not harshly.

                _"O-o-oh…yeah…" _the hanyou blissfully groaned. He could sense the urge to make that deep, resonating dog-purr far down in his throat and didn't fight against it as his body relaxed and he lay down beside her. In the same way, when his hind leg lifted and started scratching against his side of its own accord—thumping on the floor a bit—, he didn't attempt to impede its actions. He was taken aback, however, when the girl nuzzled him in the face with her cheek; she stopped so quickly that he didn't have the chance to bark his protest at her.

                Yet, somehow, this girl was the 'chosen one' deemed worthy enough to grace his ears…why? Because she gave one hell of a rub, that's why!

                She scooted away from him over by a desk. Pulling out some books from a small, black school case near it, she straightened up and reseated herself on the chair to her left. "You're going to have to wait for a bit; I've got school work to do," she said, giving her books a straightening tap on the desktop.

                _"SCHOOL WORK!__ What in seven hells are teachers assigning to students these days?"_ Inuyasha got up and trotted over to the window where he placed his front paws on the ledge of the sliding window and peered out at the dusky sky. _"It's already evening and you STILL have work to do?! That's ludicrous! I heard that schools have gotten stricter since I was in school but this is ridiculous…." _Glancing over at the girl, who was avidly working on some homework, the dog slumped to the floor in a defeated heap. Resting his head on his paws, he began drifting his eyes closed. _Guess all I can do is get some sleep…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                An hour or two slipped by as Kagome did the last problem on her English assignment. She finally tore her tired eyes away from the world of black-and-white and gazed at her dog. A small smile crept over her lips. "What a handsome boy…" she murmured, moving away from her completed work and over to the dozing pup. She sat back on her heels as she stroked his side.

                Incited from his frightful reverie, when his own gaze landed on the girl, he barked out, in muffled alarm, _"K-Kikyou!"_

                "Inuyasha?" inquired Kagome softly, still rubbing him, recovering quickly from being startled. "Are you all right?"

                He blinked for a second prior to looking away and breathing in deeply. _"Yeah…fine…fine…"_ was his shaky response.

                His new mistress continued her tender ministrations to his silken body with a quiet grin that put Inuyasha at ease. Her fingers were nimble and gentle, and she seemed to know where all the sore spots that needed to be remedied were. She hummed in a beautiful, still way that trod nicely in his super sensitive ears that he found himself humming along in that low doggy-purring—or friendly growling as he preferred to call it. Before long, he found that half an hour had zoomed by and he could smell something good coming from down stairs.   

The girl appeared to notice the pleasant aroma, too as she took a little sniff. "Are you hungry, Inuyasha?" she asked sweetly, patting him on the head, looking into his eyes.

                He gave a bark in response, staring back into the girl's stormy orbs. _"Does my name mean 'dog demon'? Of course I'm hungry!"_ Tipping his head to one side, Inuyasha thought, _This__ wench actually has really pretty eyes…for a bitch, that is…._

                Kagome shook her head. "Dumb question. Come on. I'm sure Mama's got some food for you." Slapping her leg and making a clicking sound, the girl motioned for the dog to follow.

                Figuring that there was no problem with going after her, Inuyasha scampered down the stairs. _"It better not be dog food, it better not be dog food…"_ he chanted silently to himself.

                Damn.

                On the floor was a stainless-steel bowl with—what else?—dog food in it.

                Inuyasha trotted over to it and gawked incredulously at Kagome. _"You have GOT to be kidding me."_

                She didn't notice and sat down at the table dog boy had seen her grandfather and mother at earlier. There was some food already placed on it, and Mama came sweeping passed him, napkins and chopsticks clasped in her fists. Souta bounded in and sat beside his sister, while Gramps sat across from them.

                Staring longingly at the delicious smelling oden and roasted fish, the hanyou-in-a-dog-suit sighed and slumped underneath the table. _"Like hell I'm gong to eat that slop. I'd rather starve…I didn't like it when that bitch Kikyou fed me it, and I still don't like it…."_

                The normal dinner conversation ensued after a few moments. About five minutes went by, Inuyasha still moping on the cold tile, when a hand came down with a large hunk of fish clasped in it. The scent danced its way into his nostrils, and he perked his snout up to take a deeper inhalation. Ambry eyes flicking open, Inuyasha soundlessly rose to all fours and made his way to the feminine hand that he recognized as Kagome's. He ran his pink tongue over his chops before taking hold of the tasty morsel and settling at the girl's feet, taking his time in devouring it.

                "So, how was school today, Souta?" Mama asked, handing her son the soy sauce.

                He snatched it out of her hand and generously added it to his fish and white rice prior to answering. "Not much. Kohaku and I are entering a project for science fair this year."

                "Really? What are you planning on doing?"

                Grinning broadly, the boy elaborated, "We were thinking of doing a volcano, but Mr. Yoshida suggested—"

                Kagome's insane giggling fit broke Souta's sentence and he frowned at her.

                "Higurashi Kagome!" her mother scolded. "That's not polite to laugh at your younger brother's idea, even if it is your birthday!"

                Souta nodded vigorously, shooting daggers at her.

                Immediately, she ceased, though a smile worked its way over her face; it was a mix of sheepish embarrassment and nervousness. "Um, sorry, Souta, I wasn't laughing at you, really! I was remembering that, um, we were supposed to be building volcanoes last year in class, and Yuka and Eri's blew up in their face; Sango and I got sprayed…. Sorry…."

                "Is that all?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, giving her daughter a calculating look.

                She bobbed her head. "Yeah…." Beneath the table, she wiggled her fingers as Inuyasha's sultry tongue continued to try and cleanse her of any lingering fish flavor; waste not, want not, he figured. After a bit of a struggle with the stubborn dog, she managed to shimmy her digits away to the safety of the blue cloth napkin on her lap. Having finished her supper, Kagome drew her hand fully away from her dog, who'd begun to advance towards her lap, nose in overdrive, very much to his displeasure, and gathered her dirty dishes. She excused herself and bustled into the kitchen; Inuyasha emerged from underneath the table, hot on her heels.

                The girl rinsed her bowl out and did the same with her chopsticks. She glanced down when she felt a warm weight near the back of her legs. "Hmm?" Kagome craned her neck and peered at the dog resting to the rear of her. The girl's face broke out into a smile. "Enjoy that, Inuyasha?"

                In response, he wagged his tail. _"Not half bad, actually…hell, that was great! I'm still not gonna eat that dog food shit…."_ Backing off a bit so she could move, Inuyasha scampered after her as she went to answer the ringing phone. His ears—still as sensitive as they were when he was hanyou, fifty years ago—caught the sound of another female's voice on the other side of the phone. He heard the name 'Sango'—presumably the person on the line—and 'Miroku' which the dog-demon hadn't even a guess at, spare the Sango girl kept repeating, embarrassed, "THAT pervert?! You've got to be kidding me, Kagome!"

                When his mistress waltzed off to relax on the couch, cordless phone in hand, the hanyou did the natural thing; he explored some of the house. Inuyasha trotted on his padded feet, long claws clicking as he passed through the rooms without carpeting, and he found himself with that kid, Souta. The little boy had his tongue creeping out the side of his mouth as he sought to defeat his opponent on the fighting game he was playing.

                Inuyasha cocked his head in interested and promptly collapsed to his rump. _"This is one of those video game systems I've been hearing about…. If I had opposable thumbs and workable fingers, I'd be playing, too…."_

                "Hey, Inuyasha," Souta greeted, having made it to the next level. He paused the game to turn around and pat the dog happily on the head. "Sis is so lucky to get you for her birthday."

                Ears perking up a bit more, recalling the brief snippets of 'birthday' and 'Kagome' and 'my birthday', he woofed in curiosity, _"How old is that bitch now exactly?"_

                The boy, turning back to his game, murmured, "She gets a white cake with pineapple filling and cheesecake frosting…. Fifteen must be an important age. I always thought sixteen was the big age." Shrugging half-heartedly, eyes glued to the screen, Souta's fingers went into frenzy over the PlayStation 2's controller.

                _"Fifteen, huh?"_ Dog boy clicked his way out of the room, to do a bit of more exploring, when a small fact dawned on him. _"I got changed into this form while I was still seventeen…. Heh, wonder how old that makes me: seventeen bordering on eighteen or sixty-seven bordering on sixty-eight…?"_

Damn, his life was pathetic.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After about an hour of expedition, Inuyasha made his way to the den where Kagome was finishing up her conversation, still stretched out on her back, long hair riding over the arm of the couch; Buyo the cat was, it seemed, attempting to jump up and catch it…. The feline went for a bound and…nope, landed on his butt. _Stupid cat…. _He paused beside the sofa, sniffing the air. He smelled…cake! And it was almost done. He licked his lips—or chops as he didn't really have lips persay—, hoping she'd bequeath him a morsel….

                "Oh, you should see him, Sango! I think he's a husky or something like that. He's such a handsome dog, aren't you, Inuyasha?" the girl tenderly cooed, reaching back a hand to absently scratch behind his ears.

He made a lax bark—the equivalent of a scoff—but did nothing to stop her. _"Don't neglect one ear of the other, wench…."_ Why not soak up the attention? She _was_ praising him to her friend, wasn't she? _At least she's got good taste…_ he haughtily thought, golden eyes smirking at her_._

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow at school, Sango…." She sighed. "Oh, yeah, right…I'm getting really tired of Eri, Yuka, Ayumi babbling on and on about him." Kagome giggled as she finished, "I'll meet you in the library before school starts. Good night, Sango." With that, the girl hit the off button and sat up. "Shall we check on the cake, boy?"

Inuyasha simply waggled his tail, the long, glossy fur gently swaying slightly from side-to-side.

Grinning, Kagome hopped off the couch, and got to the entryway of the kitchen.

"Oh, there you are, sweetheart," Mama said, opening the oven door. She reached in and retrieved a round cake pan between her rooster oven mitt and her navy colored one. Expertly setting the hot pan and its contents on a raised coil of metal, she removed her mitts and began searching through the drawers for a knife. "I'll let it cool a bit before taking it out and making it yummy." She smiled happily at her daughter as she traversed further into the room.

"Thanks, Mom. You're the best. I love your cakes so much more than store bought ones."

Mama beamed more, bringing her daughter into a small embrace. "Thank you, Kagome."

Giggling a bit when released, the girl looked down to Inuyasha, who was sniffing the air with a doggy grin akin to yearning. "It'll be done soon, boy."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After about ten minutes or so, Kagome eagerly waited in the living room in front of the low coffee table, resting her rump on her heels; Inuyasha was spread like a streak of white beside her, ocher eyes glancing around a bit as his muted eyebrows scrunched and un-scrunched with every shifting for inspection.

Souta sat across from his sister and her pet, brown orbs focused expectantly on the kitchen doorway. "Gramps," he said, addressing the old man seated next to him, "how much longer do you think Mom's gonna be?"

Clearing his throat with a 'sagely' cough, he replied, "It takes as long as it does with women, Souta. They can't do anything rushed."

Glaring from across the way, Kagome interjected, displeasure on her face, "Oh, and what exactly _is_ that supposed to mean, Grampa?"

"N-nothing, Kagome…" he nervously laughed, shrinking back from the crackling fire the seemed to have suddenly appeared behind her. He took much interest setting out the cake plates.

Inuyasha made a low chuckle, though having scooted away a bit for precautionary sake; even _his_ instincts were telling him this was a dangerous situation. _Glad that ain't me…_

The girl's fit of annoyance was replaced by bubbly jollity—much to the three males' relief—when her mom entered the room. The birthday cake was carried on a silver plate, and was done up well with pink and yellow rosettes along the bottom and top. The fifteen candles followed the curve of the cake, creating a ring of fire.

Then the birthday song was sung, and Kagome beamed happily, while Inuyasha pinned his ears down, unnoticeably, due to how off pitch Souta and Gramps were singing.

"Make a wish, Sis!" Souta said excitedly.

The girl nodded and thought for a moment. A soft smile graced her lips preceding pursing them with enough space for a jet of cool air to extinguish the flickering flames; the dog-demon only hazily wondered what her wish was. After clapping and cheers, the dessert was cut and served; Souta was sent to the kitchen to fetch the French vanilla ice cream and some spoons.

Even Inuyasha was let into the festivities a bit when Kagome playfully left a teaspoon sized amount of ice cream on his nose. _"Huh?"_ His tongue automatically came out and licked off the frozen, creamy treat. He continued to do so till it was all gone; he'd managed to restrain himself from snatching her cake. He sure as hell didn't want to be placed in that animal shelter again.

Kikyou actually might find him this time.

Shaking the frightful cogitation from his furry head, the hanyou stared at his mistress. Laying a paw on her thigh he gave a short bark.

"Hmm? Oh, did you like that, Inuyasha?" she asked, turning her gaze to him. His response to her was a wag of his tail. "Ok, well, another teaspoonful." She took a rough guess at the amount as she put the melting ice cream on two fingers and wiped it on his already cold and wet nose.

The dog didn't do much except wag his tail as he ate, not moving from his position.

"Kagome, do you really think that's a good idea?" Gramps queried.

She nodded. "As long as he doesn't have a lot, he'll be fine. Dogs get sick if they eat chocolate, though."

_"Do you have any idea how much that sucks?"_ Inuyasha piped in. _"I only have chocolate once in a new moon."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Presents were bequeathed, and the girl accepted them with a bright smile that Inuyasha thought was getting on his nerves; however, that annoying thing in his head—his conscience, the thing he believed he'd smote—had other ideas. _She looks pretty, doesn't she?_ The dog-demon placed one paw over his muzzle to rub at it in irritation. _"Aw, shit, shut up. She's a human wench, ugly as all get out."_

_"It's weird to talk to yourself,"_ a new male voice said to the hanyou.

The dog perked his ears warily and his orbs fixated upon Buyo, who had been curled near Mama's legs. _"You actually can talk?"_

_"Of course I can talk!"_ the feline fumed. _"Why wouldn't I?"_

Inuyasha blinked stupidly for a moment. _"I thought maybe you were too fat and it was crushing your vocal cords or something." _He smirked evilly at the cat, to which Buyo gave a short hiss.

_"I don't know why the mistress chose a mongrel like you."_

_"Feh."_

"Oh, wow, thanks, Souta! You remembered!" Kagome held a copy of Spirited Away to her chest, completely unaware of the smack talking going on between her cat and dog. She had gotten a new portable CD player and some herbal soaps from Mama. The only one left to give her anything was Grampa.

Gramps cleared his throat importantly several times before thrusting his package at her. "This is for you, my girl."

The girl put on a smile, silently pleading, _Please__, don't let it be another mummified hand of a kappa water-sprite…. _Her prayer was heard when she removed the penguin covered wrapping paper to find a bottle of expensive perfume.

_Aw, great, now something to make my eyes water… _Inuyasha griped to himself.

"Thank you, Grampa!" Kagome began to pick up the excess papers and jetsam and flotsam, throwing them away, prior to gathering her gifts. She hugged and kissed her family. "This was a great birthday. Sango, Miroku, and I are going to hang out on Sunday at some little café Miroku knows."

Nodding, Mama smiled gently. "I think you should go take a bath and relax."

"Mm…a bath sounds so good…."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doing as advised, Kagome took a nice, long bath; she was in there for nearly an hour and a half. She spent another thirty minutes drying her hair, thankful that she hadn't had much studying to do. The girl shuffled to her room, clad in a pair of comfortable blue and green swirled pajamas. Upon entering, she found something on her bed. "Hey, you, what're doing on my bed?" she half scolded to the dog resting there.

Inuyasha cracked an eye open. _"I _was _sleeping, stupid." _He didn't even move from his spot along the length of the bed. _"And I'm not moving. Keh." _Kagome walked over to the bed raising her hand a bit, making the hanyou regret his actions a bit. _Shit…she's gonna hit me…. Just like Kikyou did…._

He began to uncharacteristically whimper; he realized how pathetic that sounded, but no matter how much he used to snap and bark at that bitch, Kikyou would never desist thrashing him. It really was bad that he was demoted to such…domestication, that he couldn't merely tell her to shut up and leave him alone, and if all else failed, threaten her with his claws.

Then again, if he was his half-demon form again, he wouldn't be in this position, would he?

The girl blinked in slight confusion, before bringing her hand down upon the cringing dog's side in a pat. She slowly stroked his fur, moving to sit on the bed's edge. "Did you think I was going to hit you? I'm sorry…. I'd never do that. I don't believe in cruelty like that. I promise I'll never ever hit you without a very probable cause, and sleeping on my bed isn't one of them."

Not noticing that he had his eyes closed, Inuyasha peered up at the girl. Her expression was mild and sympathetic, like her tone, and she seemed to be really sincere. Inadvertently, his heart softened a bit. _"Guess you're ok, after all, Kagome. At least you're fucking decent."_

"Now, to let you sleep on my bed…." She stared at the dog for a moment. "Well, the animal rescue league said they'd given you all had baths today."

_"Which was torture in and of itself."_

Kagome got up and moved to the doorway, hitting the light switch that shut off the light from her ceiling fan; Inuyasha could still make the girl out clear as day. "I'll let you sleep with me. Just, don't do anything gross, like throwing up or, you know."

_"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, I won't."_

Her voice, nearer this time, said happily, "Well, if we understand each other, let's go to sleep." The girl made her way to her clock and made sure its alarm was set. With that accomplished, she turned down her covers, somewhat awkwardly, and slid in. "Guess you're starting to like me a bit, huh, Inuyasha?"

He snorted. _"I'm here 'cause it's getting cold and…I felt like being nearby. You said you needed a guard dog, didn't ya?"_ he finished brusquely, attempting to make up for the brief sound of caring; forgetting for a moment she couldn't understand him.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha," she yawned, leaning up a bit to kiss him in between his ears.

_"Keh, night,"_ he responded curtly, only because he could feel the heat rising in his ears which started spreading throughout the rest of him.

                Maybe having fur had its advantages.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Phew! Sorry for taking so long so I'm very sorry. School started, I've been working on lots of stuff, but I haven't forgotten this one. I should get working on "On Vacation" as well. In any case, what did you think? RR, people!

Inuyasha: Why do you torture me so?  
It's fun, cheap, and easy.

Inuyasha: You're going to draw out this dog thing for a while, aren't you?

smirks evilly Good things do come to those who wait.

Any way, please check out my other stories: "The Mysterious Little Visitor", "On Vacation", "Shikon High", "Codename: HANYOU", "My Immortal (And other Song Fics)", and "Hugs and Kisses (And other One Shots)". Thanks again!

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow


	3. Getting UptoDate

_Disclaimer__: _No, I don't own Inuyasha. I wish I did but…well, there's that whole legal issue…. ; (It's pending. Really it is!) I also don't own Sony.

A/N: Sorry for the long-delayed update. I've been sick a lot and been working on my other stories. Let's just say a lot's happened recently and that I hadn't had a chance to work so, hopefully this one will work and try to get another chapter out after it, ASAP.

_Chapter Three_: _Getting Up-to-Date _

            The next morning, Inuyasha awoke on his mistress's bed, making a large, tongue-curling yawn. Opening his ocher eyes, the dog glanced over at the spot where the girl laid—_should_ have laid. Eyes springing all the way open, he barked, _"Kagome! Kagome! Where the hell did you go?!"_ Yapping insanely, he leapt off the bed and scrambled on his paws, uncertain of which direction to head. He ran this way, but then the other direction seemed more promising, as he skid across the carpet with fur flapping; the end result, funnily enough, was the hanyou making a giant circle.

                Oh, how he proved his intellect.

                Coming up the stairs with arms full of clean clothes, Mrs. Higurashi poked her head into her daughter's room. Taking one look at the distressed canine, she laughed. "Poor, thing."

                Instantly, the dog stopped his maniacal run. _"What do you mean 'poor thing'? That bitch left me alone! I ain't sad or nothing, I'm pissed off!"_

Setting Kagome's clothes on top of her dresser, she made her way to Inuyasha and patted his head gently. "You probably wonder where Kagome is, don't you?"

                _"Yeah! Now, where the hell is she?!"_

                "She's at school." Mama was a bit surprised when she saw the dog's shoulders sag a bit and a sound akin to a moan emit from his muzzle. "Oh, she'll be home soon enough," she consoled, lightly scratching behind his ear, to which Inuyasha shook his head with a snort and backed away a petite amount. Smiling, the woman exited the bedroom, murmuring to herself, "It's so sweet how much he loves Kagome…."

                _"H-h-he-hey! Whoever said I love that wench, huh?! I'm just wondering where the fuck she disappeared off to, that inconsiderate bitch," _he grumbled in embarrassment. How dare she say he love that stupid girl. He didn't love her, but he didn't hate her either. Hell, he barely even _knew_ her. The only thing that registered in his brain was the fact that she took off without permission. The insolence!

                The old geezer walked by, plastering an ofuda on the doorframe of the room. He mumbled something that sounded oddly like, "Eeeeeeviiiil leeeeeeave…" to Inuyasha.

                With another grunt, the canine watched as the old priest toddled over to another room. That had to be some form of ass-backwards joke, or that coot was due back to the asylum soon.

                Stumped on what to do besides make fun of people without them knowing, Inuyasha figured his best course of action would be to catch some more shut eyes on that comfy bed of Kagome's. The last bed he slept on felt like a rock…oh, wait, wasn't that a floor? In any case, he whirled around to prepare for a jump when… _"You! Lard ass! What're doing, you mooch?! Get the hell off!"_

                Curled up in a tight ball was Buyo. Slowly, the feline opened one eye. _"Mind not barking so loud. I'm tired. You hogged the bed with the mistress all last night."_ His eyelid slid shut again, signaling for the offending mutt to depart. _"I can't sleep well on that couch downstairs. It's a bit lumpy for my tastes."_

                Inuyasha growled, never one to be pushed around. _"Well, it's my bed now,"_ he retorted sharply, raising his hackles a bit for emphasis_. "Get the fuck off!"_

_                "So, we're going to be playing the whole dog-and-cat game again," _the cat murmured warily, without even moving a millimeter_. "Here I thought that half-demons would be above such things."_

_                "We are…with the exception of comfortable beds." _Tipping his head, as he thought for a moment, he inquired, losing his nastiness, _"Say…how is it that all of you…animals know that I'm not a regular, domesticated house pet like the rest of you? Humans and demons don't seem to take it into account, so how do you?"_

Buyo opened his eyes again, flipping his position so his head rested on the bed, looking sideways at the former-hanyou. _"Every demon gives off youki, which includes hanyou—"_

_                "Yeah, yeah. I know that already!"_ snapped the dog impatiently.

                _"Do you want the explanation or not?" _tersely responded the chubby feline, yellow-green eyes clearly annoyed._ "Anyway, we—being non-enchanted beings that were born this way—have been used for the longest time as tellers of the future. Changes of weather, the strange and unnatural, you get the point. Well, any one of us can sense the youki off of you and smell the faint scent of dog-demon."_

Gradually, as things started to make sense, Inuyasha gave a canine version of a nod. _"So that's all?"_

_                "Pretty much. We're pretty in touch with our sensitive senses. There are certain exceptions with certain people and demons that are considered gifted, but people _usually_ take those premonitions like a grain of salt…." _Buyo gave a catlike smirk._ "Didn't get out a lot, did you?"_

_                "Nope. That bitch used to keep me inside as a trophy prize. After she enchanted me to this…"_ he glanced down at his paws and long fur with slight lassitude, _"she started to forget that I knew what was going on. If I put a claw out of line, she'd hit me. She probably figured it'd break my spirit or something." _He laughed hollowly. _"My spirit was so broken by then so she couldn't have done much to it."_

_                "Why would that woman place a spell on you?" _interrogated Buyo, stretching one paw out to knead the comforter.__

_"I wanted to break it off. Our relationship…."_

_                "Romantic?"_

Inuyasha didn't respond, merely stared at the carpeting. _"It meant nothing…" _he said quietly with bitterness lacing his tone. _"I was right in doing so…. It wasn't working out…. Even after what she did to me, what she claimed to have felt…. She hadn't really wanted to keep it up…and she cast me aside when…. So she really didn't love me to begin with…. I was just another lonely soul like her. Stupid and lost." _That out in the open, he began to turn away towards the doorway.

Sitting up a bit, gut covering his back feet, now interested and forgetting about his earlier dislike of the hanyou-canine, Buyo mewed in utmost snoopiness, _"You did love her at one point, huh? How do you know she didn't love ya?"_

The hanyou stopped dead in his tracks, but didn't turn around. _"She bewitched me---nothing else." _He slunk out of the room, leaving his conquest of the bed forgotten, tail hanging rather low and ears in the same state. _She betrayed me; that's how I know._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the rest of the day, Inuyasha shadowed Mrs. Higurashi around the house. (She was a hell of a lot more interesting than the old guy.) She was very nice to him, and so he returned his own by staying out of her way. He'd picked an opportune time to wake up, as Mama was making her lunch. According to the digital clock, it was roughly one in the afternoon.

Inuyasha played up the cuteness for all it was worth, which rendered him a piece of beef that 'accidentally' fell to the floor.

Not much else happened.

He was permitted to lay by the couch and watch the daily news with Mama. There was so much he'd missed out on having been confined to a single, bleak room when in Kikyou's 'care'. _"I had no idea that there were so many technological advances. Kikyou stuck to the old standbys of spells and bindings."_

"And in other news," the cat-demon newscaster was saying, "Sony's president, S—"

"—and don't forget to add plenty of sour cream to this dish," some chef was saying as he stirred something in a huge metal pot when the channel flipped.

Mrs. Higurashi looked down at Inuyasha, who gawked at her; that looked an awful lot like what she'd been planning on making for dinner. "We all have our little secrets on things. I wasn't born a good cook."

The dog wagged his tail. _"You wouldn't believe the one I'm carrying around."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later, as the clock struck three, the door slid open.

"Hello! I'm home!" a girl's voice called.

Inuyasha, who was raptly gawking the pastry chef pour insurmountable ounces of strawberries on a cheesecake, was brought back at the sound of the young, feminine voice. _"Kagome!" _Slipping to his paws, the dog scampered to the front landing. _That bitch---is she gonna get it! _He rounded the corner just as the girl in question was sliding off her shoes.

"Hi, Inuyasha—" Kagome managed to get out before he leapt on her, knocking her flat on her back on the floor.

_"You!"_ he barked in her face. _"Who said you could leave?! Idiot!"_ He touched his black, wet nose to hers.

Blinking, still a bit stunned at the forceful greeting, Kagome stared at him. "You really look angry…. What's your problem, boy?"

_"My problem…?" _he asked bemusedly for a second before regaining his momentum. _"My problem is that you left without telling me, you crazy bitch!"_

"Guess I freaked you out, huh?" She pushed him off her gently, knocking him unsteadily to his back paws. "Sorry. Should've let you know I was going to school."

His jaw hung slack for a moment. She actually knew what he was talking about…? Maybe that fat ball of fur was right. Inuyasha wouldn't have been surprised; after all, that thing had to have some worth besides eating, sleeping, and being a walking heater. Maybe he'd be valuable in the matter of what the hell Kagome needed him to guard in that mini-shrine…. At the very least he could say he had a semi-human-hanyou conversation…even if she wasn't _fully_ aware of what he was saying _exactly_. _"Keh, don't let it happen again."_ Slumping to his rump, he wagged his tail, eyes still clouded in surliness and befuddlement.

Smiling, she got to her feet and patted him on the head. "I'm going to get a snack."

                With a dog-shrug, Inuyasha trotted after her into the kitchen.

Grandpa sat chanting things to himself. Upon seeing his granddaughter, he leapt to his feet. "Ah, Kagome, it's you!"

"Hey, Gramps," she said, crossing over to the fridge. "Now who took the soda? Oh well, I'll just get some chips," she mumbled to herself.

"I blessed your room today," the elderly man stated proudly when the girl sat down across from him, a bag of ridges in hand.

"Oh, really?" she asked without much enthusiasm, feeding a chip to the dog at her side. "No terrible beings or anything lurking around, are there, Grandpa?"

Taking a much longer time getting back down to his knees, he sat back down at a sagely pace, eyes closed. Leisurely he opened them, 'wisdom' shining there as he put a hand in the fold of his shirt. "There is a demonic presence lingering in the air here."

At that, Inuyasha froze, wondering for a fleeting instant if the old man was on to him; however, he remembered Kagome's words from the day before about no spiritual power and how easily he left her room without the lightest touch of physical pain. _The hell do I have to worry about? That guy probably gets mystified at the market thinking the carrots are cursing him or something…._

"I see." The girl popped another chip into her mouth for a moment, her grandfather staring at her with a look that begged for her to ask. With a sigh, she complied. "Well, what was causing it?" she inquired flatly.

"Ah, glad you asked, my girl!" he sounded triumphantly as if she'd asked him such a troubled haste. "It wasn't your room at all, it was him!" In a flash, Gramps had whipped out an ofuda from the inside of his shirt and had adhered it to the hanyou-in-a-dog-suit's head.

Inuyasha blinked his golden orbs slowly in bother, one eyebrow twitching._ "Talk about a senile geezer…. If this is supposed to work, this flimsy, little piece of paper ain't gonna be enough to stop me, even if I am a damn cur."_

"Grampa," Kagome moaned reaching over and pulling the ofuda carefully off her dog's noggin. "Inuyasha's name may mean 'dog-demon' but he's not a demon, ok?" She sighed, laying the paper with bits of cesium fur on it upon the table. _Though,_ she thought, smoothing the mussed fur with a hand,_ I do feel a bit of a shiver…almost like when I'm around demons at school._ Turning her stormy gaze to her dog. _What exactly did I get for a house pet?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: GOMEN! I didn't mean to take so long in updating. I love the reviews I've been getting. To fill people in on some stuff. No, Inuyasha really isn't out of character if you think about it. He has to betray some of his normal nature because he's a dog. He doesn't really have a say in things like going willingly to the pound and if he's considered hostile, do you honestly think Kagome would keep him around? Ok, next thing. About how Inuyasha got caught by the animal rescue league, all those details will show up later as will certain other things. That's the basics of what I can remember. Oh! I don't write lemons, so don't ask for any, because one will never come. Thanks for all the reviews and please review more! It totally cheers me up, especially around finals.

Also, on another note, please check out one of my newest stories "The Orphan and the Conman". On FanFiction.net, I've received 2 reviews, and 1 on MediaMiner.org. Inuyasha.net has been a bit more successful. It's a parody to Fox's movie "Anastasia", with Miroku and Sango as the driving force, but Kagome and Inuyasha will not be forgotten. I will admit the prelude sounds a lot like the movie, but the rest of it will be changed in a lot of ways. If you all could please read and review, I'd really appreciate it!

This goes out to fluffy-duck A.K.A. Amanda, who has waited so patiently for this, as have Meera and a few other people.

Inuyasha: You do take a long time do shit, don't you?

Hey, I know how Kagome feels, with missing school and not doing so hot in Algebra 2 this semester, so shut it, dog-boy.

Inuyasha: Yeah, yeah, whatever. Make this damn wench happy by reading not only that fic and this one, but these things too: "On Vacation", "The Mysterious Little Visitor", "Shikon High", "Codename: HANYOU", "Hugs and Kisses (And Other One Shots)", and "My Immortal (And Other Song Fics".

hugs him I'm so glad I gave you all that ramen earlier!

If you all review a lot, and check out "The Orphan and the Conman" and review, I just might write another chapter to this _very_ soon! hint, hint

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow

Japanese used:

Youki—demonic energy

_  
  
_ __


	4. A Canine's Slight Dilemma

_Chapter Four: __A Canine's Slight Dilemma _

                About two weeks later, Inuyasha had already begun to adapt to his environment. The family was actually fine, and tolerable, including that girl who had unwittingly adopted him. It wasn't too hard to get into the swing of things—and Kagome had said good-bye to him every morning ever since that first day. He'd wanted to see her friends Sango and Miroku, but she spent the night at the other girl's house. Inconsiderate. How was he supposed to be a good guard dog if she wouldn't give him the chance to ok her friends? It would take a while, but, eventually, he'd get her trained.

                It was growing a bit colder as November waltzed its way in, making the stone courtyard of the shrine that much chillier under his black, padded paws. Wind blew softly through his sleek fur as he was all but dragged down the temple steps.

                "Come _on_, Inuyasha!" Kagome grunted, tugging with all her might on the chain link leash. She'd looped the links round one arm, and her free hand grasped tightly as she fought to reel the overgrown pup in.

                Resisting, like any other sentient creature would or should, Inuyasha pulled away, causing all the fur around his neck to bunch up where it met the collar. _"I ain't going!"_ he barked back, retreating further, centimeter by centimeter, back towards the house.

                "Quit fighting, you stupid mutt!" The girl yanked harder.

_"You fucking bitch!_" he retorted, losing his momentum for a second. Realizing that he was losing ground, he swiftly dug his paws into the steps._ "I am not a stupid mutt!"_ The dog-hanyou strained his throat against the scaly, leather band more as he began to ease obdurately backwards, and tested his luck at not passing out from lack of oxygen.

"You're going and---that's---that!" she enunciated with each heave. The leash was taut between the two battlers, and the ebony-haired lass was having trouble figuring what else to do with her pet to cajole him into her mom's little, red car. She continued to rock rearwards on her heels as she struggled all the more. _Geez, he's strong, _she cogitated as she managed to haul him forward one step and transitorily guessed at how much longer till they were two steps back. _What unnatural strength for an animal…I wonder if he's some kind of super-breed or something…. _ 

                "You need some help, Sis?" Souta asked, trotting down the stairs.

                With a grateful sigh and fatigued smile, Kagome nodded. "Yeah, he just won't come."

                _"Hey, that's not fair!"_ protested Inuyasha with a garbled yip as the siblings worked to slowly lug him all the way to the sidewalk with renewed vigor.

                Ignoring the cars that zoomed by, the duo eventually managed to shove the dog into the backseat with Souta.

                Just as he was about to come leaping out again, Kagome slammed the door virtually on Inuyasha's nose. "Now, just stay still." She shook her head with a light sigh. "Honestly…." With that she went to her door and climbed in the front seat beside her mom. "Got him."

                Mama laughed into her hand. "Seems Inuyasha really didn't want to go the vet, did he?"

                _"Would you, lady?"_ the half-demon inquired sulkily from his perch on the backseat. _"Well, you don't have those fears I do…like this is actually some ploy to 'control my aggressive nature'…"_ he huffed as he laid down, placing his furry noggin on his paws, eyes in deep gold trepidation before they shifted to a hue of affirmation._ "I still say that mailman had it coming…."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                The buildings went by in rather grey-dominated blurs. Cyclists on the sidewalk pedaled their merry way along around the humans and demons walking. The little car turned down a few streets here and there, the girl and her mother discussing new sweaters they'd seen. Souta had pulled out a Pocket Station and was playing intently.

                Inuyasha was left to stare out the window from absolute boredom. He tried to focus on something good…like the pieces of bacon Kagome had given him at breakfast. He licked his chops for a moment, before conjecturing if that had been some hidden bargain to get his ass down to the vet's office. He smirked. Well, if it was, it hadn't been a very good one.

                He'd had a feeling that something was up when his mistress and her mother were talking about something in quick, quiet tones that he couldn't pick up. So, naturally, when the girl called him over with the leash, he was curious to know was going on, albeit he had ulterior motives as well.

                What Inuyasha's hope had been was to see what was in the mini-shrine. Kagome had led him by it on their way to the steps and he nearly towed her over to his desired destination, except she was a bit stronger than he thought she would be and was rewarded by near strangulation…. All right, that and the fact Souta mentioned that wretched place they were going to right now.

The hanyou peered at the tan floor mats with a shudder as the automobile bumped along, no doubt growing closer to that repugnant place….

The vet's office.

_A gateway to Hell, more like, _he thought with distaste, turning a frown up to his mistress's backside in the front passenger seat. As he dwelled on that conviction, the vehicle pulled into a parking slot.

"We're here!" Kagome's cheerful voice announced as her door clicked open and the engine was simultaneously shut off.

Lifting his head a tad, Inuyasha read a sign that said "Rising Sun Veterinary Clinic". He groaned and grumbled to himself when he was let out by Kagome. He followed when she tugged on the leash, but not without a struggle, of course. _"I still don't wanna go! I don't wanna go!"_

"Knock it off, Inuyasha!" she scolded as she fought the zigzagging canine, almost losing her balance several times.

She didn't, to the hanyou's displeasure.

_This should be considered cruel and unusual punishment…_ he mentally grumbled as the girl pulled him in closer to her side_. _Getting an evil idea, he quickly darted away from her, dragging the teenager ineptly after, and suddenly whipped around and wound his leash about her legs.

"Ah—ah!" Kagome pivoted one way, then another, prior to finally staring down at her lower half with a glare of frustration at her shoddy bindings. She wriggled her free hand down and slid the links off her bare legs. She speedily stepped out of them and caught the rest of the leash so he couldn't pull that ruse again. "Oh, funny, Inuyasha. Hysterical," she mumbled at him with a glare.

_"Yeah, actually it was, watching you flounder like a fish out of water."_ Inuyasha made a doglike smirk at her, tongue hanging at a supercilious angle from his muzzle.

"Cheeky thing, aren't you?" Sighing, the girl yanked on the lead, and this time her pet came lightly trotting over, cesium noggin held high. "Come on, you demon."

_"Coming, Your Royal Bitchiness." _

Leading him passed the few trees that decorated the lawn, Kagome stopped to let him do his business. Her brother and mom had already gone inside the clinic, which was a mahogany color with wooden shingles and a modest valence. They'd taken Buyo here several times, so the girl was confident that they'd be able to deal with a stubborn mutt like Inuyasha.

He was a character, she'd give him that. Smart, she was certain he was. A pain, indisputably so. Inuyasha could get into anything and everything. He'd somehow managed to figure out how to work several of the doorknobs, he'd been working on getting the refrigerator open the other day, and not to mention he was staring at her schoolbooks rather intently, as if he were reading or something. Yet, the other thing that really weighed on her mind was the fact she seemed to know what he was saying or feeling, in some weird way.

If Inuyasha looked at her a certain manner, she could tell when that mongrel was being cocky. Another mode, he was displeased. Kagome wondered what his voice would sound like if he could talk. Probably very arrogant, gruff, and sarcastic was her supposition.

She sniggered to herself. She was as loopy as her grandpa!

She had to be; she was giving her dog a voice. _Dogs don't talk human languages, Kagome, _she chided herself with little conviction.

Kagome didn't know any guy that had a voice even remotely close to the envisioned tone. The closest was Miroku, but his was smoother, though very sarcastic, she would admit.

_"Hey, you done gawking at me or what?"_ that designated voice asked her with a huff.

Turning her gaze down, Kagome spotted Inuyasha staring firmly at her. "Like I was actually in absolute awe over you that I couldn't do anything else," she said with a roll of her eyes.

_"Keh!__ Whatever."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting on the cold tile was not exactly Inuyasha's idea of a good time. Especially around all these damn people and their animals. He'd lost track of how many dogs and cats went by him, emancipated from leashes, laughing at him because of his predicament. Oh, how he wished Kagome wasn't holding him so tightly.

                Actually…that girl had shooed them along with a wave of their hands. "Go. Leave him alone. Go away."

                For the most part, it was effective, with the exception of one pesky wolf—what form of moron would keep a wolf as a house pet, Inuyasha had to speculate-- that snapped at her fingers, missing the tips of them by mere millimeters when she wrenched them back.

                Inuyasha immediately went on the defensive. True, Kagome still reminded him of Kikyou in a lot of ways—well, maybe just that appearance thing--, but she hadn't been so horrible to him, though he wouldn't admit he liked her very much or anything, of course. Nonetheless, she was his mistress and his job was to be a guard dog, or that was what he was always being told, so, he went with the flow.

                He rose to all fours quickly, chops pulling back to reveal his exceptionally long fangs—even by a canine standard--, fur bristling a bit at places, and his ears pinned back slightly. _"You, shit-sniffer!__ Beat it!" _he barked.

                "Calm down, boy," Kagome ordered gently yet steadfastly, clutching desperately onto his collar whilst he exerted against his detainment.

                _"Stay out of this, Kagome!"_ the hanyou shot back. _"This bastard tried to hurt you!"_

                _"What's wrong with you?"_ inquired the wolf, tipping his head back a bit at a jaunty slant. _"She should fear the power of wolves—" The_ other animal ceased speaking abruptly when a blow was delivered to the back of his cranium, causing him to whimper like a young pup.

                "You know better than that," a male voice scolded harshly from above. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

                Gradually bringing his ambry peering from the cringing wolf that scuttled away to a far corner of the clinic, Inuyasha gazed up to see a teenage boy with black hair tied in a high ponytail, pupil-less blue eyes, and pointed ears. The half-demon snorted, clearing a disgusting scent from his sensitive olfactory.

Wolf-demon stench.

                Smirking toothily, the guy apologized. "I didn't mean for him to snap at _you_, Kagome."

                _"Give me a break…what a loser…"_ muttered Inuyasha as he reversed towards his mistress. Seemed like he was doing a lot of backtracking this morning. He continued to make subdued growls.

                With a sigh of relief, the girl met the other boy's gaze with a smile. "Hey, Kouga. It's alright. He was just upsetting Inuyasha," she explained, gesturing towards her dog.

                Kouga glanced down at the silver-haired canine. In response, the dog barked at him, and the wolf-demon blinked in astonishment. _I could've sworn he told me to 'fuck off and die'…._  The boy shrugged it off. No way it could've been that. "You're not hurt are you?" He clasped her hand tightly—the one liberated from restraining her dog--, and Kagome looked at him rather anti-thrilled but really reacting.

                _That bastard…!_ Inuyasha's growl deepened a few pitches, raising his chops higher to reveal more of his pearly whites. _Who the hell does he think he is, stinking Kagome up by touching her like that?!_

                "Yeah, it's ok." Her gaze darted over the small waiting room, trying to reckon where her family toddled off to. Upon hearing Inuyasha's disgruntled rumbling, the girl managed to dislodge her hand to tenderly stroke his head. "Really, I'm fine, Kouga," she assured, though, for some reason or another, it appeared she was consoling Inuyasha.

                Gaping at her for a minute longer, he pondered as to why she was stroking that malodorous cur so affectionately, until he figured she was just a bit startled and needed the comfort of an inferior life form, regardless of the abnormality that seemed to cloak it. "Alright. I'll see you in school. Maybe we could hang out after school sometime," Kouga said, less like a suggestion and more like a directive.

                "Uh…" was her hesitant, noncommittal response as he strode away. _I guess I'm not sure whether I want to be flattered or freaked…._

                Little by little, as Kagome's ministrations continued, the half-demon allowed his bodily tenseness to subside, although he watched Kouga vigilantly across the room. _"I don't like him and I don't trust him. Wolves are pains in the ass anyways. Stuck-up bastards that think the rule the fucking world because they aren't domesticated…." _He gave a short growl._ "Conceited bastards…."_

"Inuyasha," the receptionist lady called just as Mama and Souta came back into view. "Inuyasha? The vet's ready to see you."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check-ups sucked.

Supremely sucked.

Inuyasha licked the inside of his mouth, making odd faces and tilting his head as he sought to rid himself of the taste of wood that had just touched his tongue as well as rewet his chops. _"Ugh, I hate the taste of those tongue depressors. You think someone would figure out a way to make them taste at least a little bit better after fifty years. It was almost as bad as having my temperature taken…."_

The old lady vet nodded and wrote something down on his chart before looking directly up at Kagome. "Well, child, it seems that your dog is quite hale. A bit on the aggressive side, I will admit—"

_"Hey! I'm not becoming a eunuch or anything, so get that out of your withered head, Granny." _The hanyou glanced up at his mistress with a firm look, to which she responded by absently stroking his ears.

"--but I'm sure with a little love and attention, he will shape up nicely."

Kagome smiled happily. "I haven't had him long, Ms. Kaede. He's a good guard dog, though. And I don't think he causes all that much trouble." She fondly scratched an ear, giving it a tiny tweak at the top before letting him bound off the steel table that jutted out from the wall. "He's just spirited."

Kaede grinned amiably as she handed Mrs. Higurashi the file. "I am glad. Give that to Chiaki at the front desk and she'll give you the bill," she said, talking to Mama. She went to the squat, stainless steel sink and washed her hands for a moment as Mama and Souta exited. Just as the girl was about to follow suit, Kaede stopped her by saying, "However, I do have a question for you, Kagome." She withdrew one of the paper towels from the dispenser on the wall and carefully dried her hands off.

"What is it, Ma'am?"

"How did you come by a name such as Inuyasha?" inquired the old woman coyly.

"Um…." Kagome bit her bottom lip slightly while her pet peered intriguingly at her. How _had_ she thought of the name Inuyasha? She could've called him Fluffy, or Whitey, or Snowy, or something else for that matter. But a name that meant dog-demon, dog-forest-spirit…where had that come from? It wasn't exactly a prime choice on her list for christening. "I just knew," she finally replied slowly. Closing her cobalt eyes, she nodded leisurely, as if to assure herself. "Yes," she stated resolutely, voice somewhat distant, as if she were speaking to an entity within her, "I knew that was his name. It has_ always_ been his name."

The half-demon said nothing, contemplating wordlessly, molten gaze fixed curiously on her.

Nodding, Kaede placed the pen laying on the wood countertop back in the pocket of her white coat. "Ah, I see." She glanced at the girl with eyes full of understanding. "Well, you two have a safe trip home."

"Yes. Thank you for giving Inuyasha a check-up today." Kagome politely bowed, still very much bemused. Clicking her tongue and giving the rather slack leash a small tug, she led him back towards the waiting room.

As they were returning, only the hanyou caught what Kaede murmured.

"That is a nice collar, Inuyasha. But, perhaps you'll have it removed sometime soon…."

Eyes widening, Inuyasha whirled his head around to gawk at the old woman, but all he saw was the examination room door swinging shut after him. At first, he raised a paw to push it open, when he caught sight of something a tad more appealing at that point in time. A smirk spreading across his muzzle, the long leash not being attended to by Kagome, who was still in her own little world of perplexity, Inuyasha got a running start before leaping on the unsuspecting Kouga seated a few chairs away.

Kagome felt the lead suddenly go taut. Coupled not long after was a loud string of expletives coming from a certain dark haired wolf-demon. Spinning on her heel, she yelled, as her gaze fell upon the sight, "No, Inuyasha! Stop that!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the trip home…

"Kagome, I really think we should have something to ensure that Inuyasha doesn't attack someone at random," Mama was saying when they stopped at the intersection.

"Well, I think he was still mad that one of Kouga's wolves snapped at me. "

_"That…and that wimpy wolf was fucking annoying…" _declared the half-demon proudly from the backseat.

"He probably had good intentions." The girl glimpsed back at the canine. "I mean, he's not exactly a hooligan or anything."

Inuyasha wagged his tail innocently, albeit his leer was still situated in place. It was like Christmas came early. It'd been a long time since he'd done anything like that, and it sure felt good.

"Well," Mrs. Higurashi said, pondering aloud, "just to make sure we can keep him under control, I think we should send him to obedience school."

Suddenly, Inuyasha felt like he found coal in his stockings this year.

Damn.

Santa must've known he hadn't been exactly the perfect…whatever he was classified as, the past five decades.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hey everyone! I think I did pretty good, considering I had finals from Wednesday thru Friday. (Can we all say Gag-o-Rama?) Nonetheless, I finished this chapter and I'm pretty happy! Actually, with 70 reviews (at last count) on FanFiction.net makes it my second most popular story, and 33 on MediaMiner.org (not all of them are showing up, so sorry Aurora Thorn and Queen Klu), and I don't know how many on Inuyasha.net. Thanks! Keep the reviews coming in!

Same request applies. I really would like some more reviews on "The Orphan and the Conman" so, please check it out and review.

For Amanda who reviewed out of insanity and her pixie stick fetish and Elissa who accidentally left a review while I was still logged in. To Ghoul King: I understand if you don't like high school fics and such—as I'm in high school right now and I watch the whole escapade--, you don't have to tell me you don't like which one. I mean, it can be considered thoughtful, or a bit of a downer. "If you don't like it, don't read it," that is my motto! (It helps to not make writers feel bad.) But I'm glad you like this and my other fics. I just felt I should point that out, so please don't be cross!

Inuyasha: Don't you have any sympathy?

Yes.

Inuyasha: Then leave me the hell alone!

But…I like you. You're my favorite manga/anime character ever. So…nope!

Inuyasha: Social services….

Well, I'm also very happy because I got one of my Christmas presents early. My best friend Erin gave me the Inuyasha Symphonic CD, "Wind". It's so cool!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow

hanyoumikodreamerhotmail.com


	5. A Much Worse Place

_Disclaimer: _Stupid legal system…alright, alright! No need to be pushy! mutters I don't own Inuyasha-- (is jabbed by a man in a black suit) Let me rephrase that: I don't own the entire crew of Inuyasha, just a small few—ow! Quit poking me! I don't own Inuyasha or anything except my own characters, and this plot, and—ow! pulls down a convenient black curtain and kicks the guy in the black suit's ass. A few seconds pass Better. smacks hands together On with the story.

_Chapter Five: __A Much Worse Place_

                "I believe you have filled out all the necessary forms," the middle-aged dog trainer said, tapping her clawed fingers over the dark hardwood of the desk. Her dog ears swiveled about as noises that Kagome couldn't pick up made their way in. Her dull brown hair was cropped perfectly straight above her shoulders and hung in a no-nonsense manner.

                Pretty sad if even her _hair_ was afraid of her.

                Flexing her hand, Kagome thought, tear in one eye as she stared at the woman, _It'd better have been the last of them. Any more and my hand's gonna cramp up!_ She gazed down at Inuyasha; the poor canine had been sulking ever since he'd been ordered to go to obedience school.

The girl had tried to dissuade her mother, but to no avail. Mama always won out in things like this, and Kagome was well aware of her mother's Mom Power when she found herself seated in this obnoxious blue chair that was much too big for her. Several times she'd just about been sucked in.

Kind of like how she'd managed to find Inuyasha and her in Kaeko's Obedience Academy on a nice Sunday afternoon.

Kaeko was the dog-demon-woman sitting primly fore her; she wasn't too fond of her snooty youki, besides her natural air of the same stuffy genre.

Kagome wondered to herself why this place couldn't have just been an obedience school, rather than an academy. What was the big difference, they both would instruct in about the same things, right? And from what she could see, it wasn't exactly anything earth-shaking.

It was, _"A hellhole, plain and simple,"_ Inuyasha believed without a doubt in his doggy brain. The whole time his mistress had pleaded with her mother, he'd trotted after her, adding his own—unheard—comments; he would've gone along with Kagome's reasoning if he was her mother.

Then again, he was pretty biased about not going, wasn't he?

But, he'd heard stories about how these institutes could seriously change a person—er, dog—and life would never be the same!

Not like he actually _listened_ to everything he heard.

Well, not by choice, anyway.

He could've really done without that conversation Gramps had with himself in the bathroom the other day…

Back to the point, Inuyasha had seen too many other dogs crowding the main hall. The truth be told, Kikyou had never let him out of the house. Not really anyway. Only to go and do his business, then she'd lock him back in that awful room. At least there'd been plenty of books in there, so he'd, at the very least, kept up with the times—somewhat—and educated himself further for lack of anything better to do.

It wasn't that he was intimidated by those mutts hanging around outside the abysmal office, not by any stretch of the imagination; it was the fact that he was disgusted by how much they yielded to their masters. He didn't hate Kagome or anything, he liked her a bit, he supposed, and he'd listen to her basic commands…when he felt like it. He wasn't willing to become _that_ tame; thankfully, the girl understood that fully.

 All she had asked was that he would try to behave.

_Try_ being the operative word there. Sure, he'd _try_, but how hard…eh, depended upon his mood, the location of the moon, what kind of burger the guy down the road had…. If all those factors were in perfect alignment, it'd all be fine and he'd be the perfect angel.

Keh! Yeah right. He was a demon thru and thru, no questions asked.

Kaeko leaned over the top of the desk, eying Kagome somewhat while jotting a few things down on her yellow legal pad. "Alright, Miss Higurashi, your dog—what was his name again?"

Feeling a bit unnerved by the rather manly-looking dog-demon, she answered quietly, hooking her fingers together slightly, "Um, his name's Inuyasha, ma'am."

The woman stopped her scribbling to bring her thunderous green glower on the girl. "Is that supposed to be funny, Miss Higurashi?" she interrogated rather stiffly.

"N-no, Miss Kaeko," Kagome responded softly, a slight stutter to her words, slinking back in her chair a tad before becoming engulfed in faux velvet.

"I should like to think not." Sniffing, Kaeko glanced from the struggling girl down to Inuyasha.

Another snarl had been born deep within his chest. _"That is my actual name, you idiotic witch!"_ He flashed his fangs at her, practically plastering his side to his mistress's legs. _"And don't be getting superior over Kagome, bitch. You may be a she-dog-demon, but it doesn't mean a damn thing if you upset the wench."_ The only one allowed to give his mistress hell was him, damn it, and that was his sacred rite as her pet!

She wrinkled her nose a faintly prior to giving it a pretentious little flip up in the air. "Hmph. It seems your pet is in need of some dire guidance. I have the feeling he's rather unruly." Kaeko turned her gaze pointedly to the frazzled girl.

Taking in a deep breath after her irksome battle with the armchair, Kagome glared back at the woman. Kagome was usually a pretty level-headed girl and very kind to others by nature, but enough was enough! Somehow managing to sit at the very edge of her cushion, she replied, just as snippily, hands folded neatly in her lap, "I prefer 'passionately spirited'."

The hanyou had to snicker at that. It was pretty funny to watch his mistress when she'd get her dander up like this, all dignified yet smoldering beneath the surface.

And 'passionately spirited'? That really beat out on everything. Oh, if only she knew how 'passionate' he was.... It was enough to make him cease growling and opt to sit on his rump beside her, wagging his tail, all the while giving the headmistress the most sinister look.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Man, that Kaeko woman truly was the bitch among bitches, Inuyasha had to admit. Kagome seemed like a mediocre roar, even on her fiercest of days, compared to this chick. She would strut prudishly around with her hands tucked behind her back like a drill sergeant, barking out commands like missiles. She was at a good six inches shorter than Kagome, yet her grating disposition coupled with her looks reminded the pair strongly of a pug or a bulldog. Just _much_ uglier.

Her stooges of choice were Inuyasha and Kagome. Regardless they'd been there almost two weeks, she caught every mistake they made at every turn.

And they made a _lot_ of blunders.

"Miss Higurashi!" came Kaeko's rather shrill voice as she made an angular turn to face the girl and her pooch. "You shouldn't have to plead with your dog to make him lie down. _You_ are the mistress and _he_ is the dog. Master him, not the other way around!"

_Oh what I wish I could do to make you leave me alone!_ Kagome thought huffily, glancing down at her dog; he was still sprawled on the flower-patterned carpet whereas the others had risen. "This is all your fault, you know," she hissed, remembering when he'd eaten all the liver snaps, and refused or mutilated whatever she commanded him to do. Inuyasha wagged his tail, pink tongue lolling out of his muzzle in response. The girl sighed with a sweat drop. "Who am I kidding? It's my fault—"

_"Precisely_,_"_ the bitch-of-the-century cut into Kagome's soliloquy. Directing the gazes of the collective forty-odd pairs of other dogs and owners towards her target, she continued on crisply, "It is your fault. You obviously do not have the skills it takes to master your," she paused for a moment to glare darkly while saying with utmost repugnance, _"dog-demon,_ and therefore I wonder why you even have a mongrel such as he." She relished the deepening blush over the girl's cheeks with a narcissistic sneer. "Perhaps something docile like a turtle or something would've been a better choice?"

Chortling could be heard from a few of the owners, while their animals stared rather blankly at each other, not understanding what the hell that annoying woman upfront had just said.

Kagome was by far the youngest person there—with the oldest dog, strangely enough—and was she red in the face. Her head bowed low, black tresses obscuring her countenance; the girl's shoulders trembled weakly as she gripped the leash so vehemently that her knuckles turned white.

Having understood everything Kaeko had said, Inuyasha gave the most blistering, hostile look his molten eyes could muster, now on his paws. _"Why you—"_ the hanyou ground out previous to feeling something plop on his platinum cranium softly. Interrupted before reaching insult point, he shifted his peering up to his mistress just as another teardrop smacked right in between his eyes; it slid over the bridge of his snout, to the tip of his nose where he licked it up. Tasting the salty water, Inuyasha's heart gave a small, to some extent painful, thud in his chest.

She was crying.

Quietly, but Kagome was crying.

_"H-hey! No crying!"_ he barked up at her forcefully. If there was one thing he could never stand, it was a woman weeping. Whether it was because it was annoying or he felt bad, Inuyasha had never quite figured out. Right now though, as he stared up through her curtain of ebony hair to her puffy face, soft lips quivering whilst tears swam downwards, he only felt rage. _She made Kagome cry! That's inexcusable! _Forgetting his position and where he was at, Inuyasha yanked with all his might on the tether that restrained him, yipping madly. His most primal of canine instincts had taken over: protect master.

The strain on the leash was enough to break Kagome out of her spell. Watching Inuyasha as he went on like a rabid pup, she quickly jerked him back towards her. "Inuyasha! Sit!" she hollered, giving another heave.

Upon hearing her voice, the hanyou suddenly settled and promptly sat where he was, although the fire and promises of bereavement didn't disappear from his amber pools.

"Lay down," she commanded gently through gritted teeth, eyes locked on Kaeko.

Getting the idea from the tone of her voice and from her scent, Inuyasha, gape also fixated on their united enemy, lowered himself to the floor.

"Return, Inuyasha." Waiting until he settled, statue-like, at her heel, Kagome rigidly spoke directly to Kaeko, "Apparently, my Inuyasha doesn't need your stupid school or your 'instruction' as you call it." She watched with her own grim satisfaction as the headmistress exuded with fury, ears flicking irately in every direction. Cobalt eyes a bit cold, completed cured from her weeping, she followed up satirically, "I think we can manage fine without it, thanks." Chin lifted high, back straight, the girl spun around and marched out; Inuyasha mimicked her, tail held at a dignified level as they exited.

"W-well!" Kaeko called after them. "It shows that you and your mongrel are a match made in heaven, aren't you?!"

Pausing only to swivel her noggin around, quite fed up with the whole humiliation, Kagome dryly said, "Did someone hit you with a newspaper too many times as a pup or something? Maybe you should lie down with a doggy treat and take a load off." Ignoring the empty, half-lucid threats, the girl and the hanyou pushed through the glass double doors without looking back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they walked home—and it really was a stretch of the legs--, Kagome glimpsed down at Inuyasha. "Well, we're in a ton of trouble now, huh?" she said with a sigh. "What're we going to do?"

_"Why're you asking me for? I couldn't even get my ass away from a fucking dog catcher…. Sleazy bastard…sneaking up on me while I was sleeping in a damn alley…everyone's gotta sleep sometime, lousy asshole…."_

Stretching her back a bit, completely oblivious to her dog's tale of woe, the girl watched couples drift by on the busy sidewalk, jostling passed her several times without care. She was pretty used to it. She observed one couple across the street for a moment with a bit of wistfulness, making Inuyasha tip his head in curiosity, before she waggled her own to practical thoughts. "I know Mama's not going to be happy at first, but once I tell about how unkind—"

_"Bitchy is the word, Kagome. Bitchy."_

"—Miss Kaeko was, I'm sure she'll understand," she said uncertainly, staring back at her pet again. Stopping to scratch Inuyasha's ears tenderly, and to help work away her own slight distress as they entered the edge of the park, the redness of her eyes completely gone, she was surprised to hear someone shout her name.

"Hey! Kagome!" the boy's bouncy voice called again.

"Huh?" Peering from side to side, her orbs finally settled on a russet haired youth trotting towards her, waving his hand furiously. "Hi, Houjou," she greeted, rather perplexed as the boy came to a halt in front of her. "What a surprise to see you."

_"Yeah, Hobo, and it ain't pleasant…"_ Inuyasha growled.

"You too, Higurashi," he said sweetly, towering over her a tad. "Say, I was wondering if you would be free sometime next week."

"Next week?" she echoed back, still bemused as she blinked several times.

"Yeah, like going to see a movie," he beamed, before quickly amending with, "as long as you're not busy, I mean."

"Well, I-I-I don't think so—" Kagome began.

"Great! I'll pick you up around six on this coming Tuesday, since there's no school that day." Grinning like a fool, Houjou jogged away from her. "See you in school, Kagome!"

As befuddled as ever, she raised her hand in a small wave, watching as the boy disappeared back into the swarm of people known as Tokyo city. "Uh, bye…?" _What in the world…?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: And yet another plot twist! cues evil music. Everyone hears "Livin' La Vida Loca". AAAAAHHHH! Shit! Wrong torture music! pops in the correct CD Ah, there we go. Thank you all so much! At last count, I had 93 reviews on Fanfiction.net, 38 on MediaMiner.org, and a few more on Inuyasha.net. You all rock! This ranks higher than "Shikon High"! Bravo! Keep it up!

This is for my niece who I will not see till after Christmas, but we'll celebrate then.

Inuyasha: from back room I ain't coming out!

Aw, c'mon, Inu. Pretty please? With ramen and Shippo-torture, and Houjou-beatings as penance?

Inuyasha: peeks his head around You drive a hard bargain, bitch.

I know, dog boy, I know.

Kagome: Come on, Inuyasha! she's dressed like Mrs. Claus, with a short skirt, as usual Please?

Inuyasha: Feh! Alright, alright…but I'm not letting you pull this on me again. he stomps out with a Santa hat on his head, black boots with white fur on the top (Sesshy's tail, perchance?), and his forelocks tied neatly with red ribbon at the bottom

Hehe, don't they look cute together as Mr. and Mrs. Claus? cues "Awww" sound effects By the way guys, mistletoe.

Inuyasha: What the hell's that for?

Kagome: whispers in his ear, which turns super pink So…

Inuyasha: leans over and gives her a moderately long kiss

pulls handy curtain down Well, that's all for now.

Merry Christmas!

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. Please, as I request again, read "The Orphan and the Conman".


	6. Curing the Itch

A/N: **Congratulations to _Why?What?Shutup_ for being the 100th reviewer on !** (Kind of funny, huh?)

_Chapter Six:__ Curing the Itch_

"Now, Kagome, explain to me again why you and Inuyasha left that obedience school?" Mama asked for the umpteenth time.

The girl, seated on the beige sofa of the family's living room, sighed rubbing her dog's ears absently. "Alright, well, Mama, Ms. Kaeko was really unkind to us." She watched her mother's face carefully, hoping that she wouldn't erupt. Not like she would; Mama almost never got to that point of anger, but she had that look that told Kagome that if she didn't think of a good explanation, she'd be up creek in no time. "You see, she picked on us, knowing we hadn't been there as long as some of the other people there. She made really biting remarks for no real reason, and all she did was yell at us. Isn't that so, Inuyasha?" she queried to the canine sitting by her toes.

_"Damn straight."_ The hanyou wagged his tail in assent, tipping his head back to peer at his mistress's visage. So far, she'd left out the part about how Kaeko-bitch made her cry, and one couldn't tell that about an hour ago she'd been near bawling her eyes out, which had pissed him off to no end. He had to give her credit for cleaning up so well and holding her own at the end, if nothing else. But he had some pondering to do, like his reactions to things recently…

"Besides, Mama," Kagome went on, standing up carefully while she loosed her toes, "Inuyasha and I don't even need that school. He can do everything perfectly. I think he just didn't like the headmistress."

Inuyasha shot Mrs. Higurashi a doglike smirk, tongue slipping over the edge of his jaw slightly. He was the epitome of canine cockiness.

The older Higurashi studied them both warily, thinking the situation through, fingertips lightly resting on her cheek. Coming to a conclusion with a little nod, a warm smile on her lips, she said, "Show me then."

Gulping, the lass gazed down at Inuyasha again. How was she ever going to get that monstrosity to listen to her? Nervously laughing, feeling imaginary beads of sweat roll over her face, she thought desperately, _Please do what I ask you to do…_ "Uh, ok. Inuyasha, um, lay."

He glanced at her anxiety-carved features, to Mama, wondering if he should listen or not. He had put her through a lot of hell by being a maverick to everything, so maybe, just this once, to keep the wench out of trouble…. Promptly easing his front paws forward, the dog lowered his chest to the honey-stained floor.

Releasing a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, Kagome let out a giggle of delight. "Inuyasha, sit." A smile slowly began to spread from ear to ear as she issued each command and they were acted upon.

When Mrs. Higurashi beamed and got up to pat Inuyasha on the noggin, they both knew they'd saved their hides from trouble.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You mean Houjou asked you out?!" Eri squeaked, leaning over the lunch table, practically in Kagome's tray—with several guys from nearby tables watching her with interest.

"Yeah, I guess," she mumbled, poking at—what she supposed was--a frozen strawberry atop her angel food cake. Recoiling a bit, she chanced a glance up to the other girl's face. "What's the big deal?"

Yuka's jaw dropped, her pint of milk halfway up to her mouth before also becoming near nose-to-nose with the accosted girl, the milk mutely thumping on the lunch table. "Hello! Kagome! Have you not come from behind your textbook recently to see what hunks we have at our school?!"

"Not really," was her quiet answer as she scooted nearer to her best friend, Sango.

Sango shook her head, making her dark hair sway in the low ponytail it was in; she was very strong, but a very good-hearted person, as well as pretty; Kagome looked up to her a bit like a sister. "Leave poor Kagome alone. She's probably just in shock." She smiled amiably at her pal. She began stacking her flotsam and jetsam from lunch onto her tray.

"Never been on a date before, Kagome?" Ayumi, the curly-haired friend, inquired, negligently tearing pieces of crust off her peanut butter sandwich.

At that, the girl in question turned sixteen new shades of pink. "Of course I have…" _Not…_ The awareness of this tidbit of information hit her like a wet towel to the face. Quickly, she gaped at her food, not wishing for her friends (excluding Sango) to catch her uneasiness and poke fun at her. Or worse, give her tips.

Maybe if she stayed quiet and didn't answer…

"You're a terrible liar, Kagome."

Yuka and Eri, who had just sat down, shot back up again. "You've truly never been on a date?!" they interrogated in flabbergasted unison.

"Uh…"

Maybe not…

The duo went off a million kilometers an hour, detailing the best way to do her hair, what make-up to wear, how she should dress for the next night; constantly prodding at her clothing and skin and pulling at her silky tresses like she was some fashion doll.

Now she knew how Inuyasha felt when he was loomed over by random people on the street during their walks. It really was no wonder why he backed up and seemed so annoyed.

Because it was irritating!

As Ayumi joined in, and as the assiduous clucking persisted, Sango nudged her friend. Gesturing with her cranium to the double doors that led out of the crowded cafeteria, the pair managed to sneak away, trays and all.

"So, how does that sound to you, Kagome?" asked Yuka, peeking up from the huddle to where said female had sat. "Kagome?" She glanced around rapidly. "Kagome? Where'd she go?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thanks, Sango," the sought after lass said as they trotted it to the school library.

"No problem. They really were jumping on you, weren't they?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I haven't exactly had the time to go on a date and I just—"

"Kagome," Sango said soothingly when the reached the library, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, "you don't have to explain to me. I know that you're supposed to be waiting for him to show up and take his place. You're worried he's not going to be nice."

Quietly, she bobbled her head, knowing full well what her friend was talking about. "Yeah, that's true." Pushing the swinging door open, she followed up, "I guess I want whoever my fiancé is that I'm supposedly bound to won't be mean. " She tilted her head to look at Sango, chewing her lip in slight concentration and wryness. "After all, he's the only who can use what's in the mini-shrine, whoever he is and whatever he is."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"She can't go on a date with that guy!"_ Inuyasha groused from atop Kagome's bed. His head rested on his paws since he was sprawled out over the length of the mattress. _"Why would she want to go with that loser anyway?!"_He'd been laying there all day, only wanting to brood over this current predicament. Narrowing his buff orbs, the hanyou grumbled and grunted about not wanting to let some stupid, scrawny, human man-child take his mistress anywhere.

She was his Kagome, damn it!

Sighing, as he pawed at his muzzle, Inuyasha's thoughts whirled around all the things he and Kagome had done, when this whole obtuse arrangement came into play, which expanded across the timeline from telling that obedience school off till now.

Today was Tuesday.

Somehow, he really didn't like Tuesdays.

Terrible days.

Terrible Tuesdays.

Stupid dates with guys called 'Hoho' or something lame like that occurred on Tuesdays.

Stupid Tuesdays…

Stupid six o'clock Tuesday night…

The dog hazily watched as Kagome brushed her hair, humming to herself. She still smelled wonderful after that shower she'd taken; and with his sensitive nose, Inuyasha could pick up the lightly floral and herbal scents easily. She had an inky skirt on with coffee colored hose and a creamy, long-sleeved shirt. The girl turned from the mirror to Inuyasha with an unreadable expression like she'd had the whole day. "So, what do you think?"

_"Ya know, Kagome, that skirt's a bit short,"_ he commented from his roost, giving her a firm look. _"It's too short. Maybe something a bit baggier and longer would be better. Or you could wear a couple of paper sacks."_ That way that little so-and-so wouldn't get too good a look at her figure…

What was wrong with him?

He'd been so defensive of her recently.

Well, of course, he was her guard dog—but…it had been more than that it seemed--more than just a guard dog's reaction; Kagome hadn't really been in any life-threatening situations, with the exception of that stupid math test she stayed up till 2 AM studying for that damn near killed her a couple of days ago.

His heart would clench tightly if he smelt another male had been near her, a growl would rise in his throat when another male spoke to her, he would feel woozy when she would stroke him, his stomach would wind up in baffling knots when she'd talk to him with that smile he'd come to treasure. Even the conjecture of her being with another caused a bothersome itch in his heart and under his skin that only seemed to be relieved when he had his Kagome to himself. It didn't make any sense to the poor hanyou. His mind swam and pounded as he contemplated continually without yielding the entire day.

Perhaps it was because she was actually pretty nice to him, and it'd been so long since anyone had shown him such kindness. He had honestly believed Kikyou was treating him with tenderness; however, it was when she asked him if he'd be willing to become a full-human for the rest of his life, it frightened him. Inuyasha never knew why it made him so uneasy, yet it had. Kikyou had betrayed him anyway; she hadn't loved like he did her.

Ironic how closely his new mistress and that bitch physically resembled one another, but there was some differences. Kagome wasn't as pale as Kikyou, and she was more cheerful. Kikyou's hair was iron-straight and extremely long, and her eyes lacked the sparkling luster and warmth Kagome's did.

He liked Kagome's eyes.

Truthfully, though he wouldn't ever let anyone—meaning Buyo—know he'd grown quite fond of having Kagome around over the course of the month he'd lived with her, this whole thing of her not being in his sight—and alone with an unfamiliar boy, moreover—made him perturbed and his heart twinge.

Inuyasha blinked widely, staring at the girl who twirled in front of the mirror with a sweetly innocent, pondering visage, entranced for a moment until his cogitation led him to something so he'd botched to keep in mind. _Has it already been a month?_ Popping up, he peeked out the window.

The sunlight was fading into evening fire.

Bounding off her bed, the canine barked furiously at his mistress.

Glimpsing down, Kagome inquired in bewilderment, "What is it, boy? Hmm?" She stretched her fingers down and rubbed one of his silky ears. "Hmm? What is it?" Her cobalt gaze slotted as she scrutinized him. _That's weird…that aura that surrounds Inuyasha…it seems a little off for some reason._

Only barking again in response to her query, Inuyasha trotted over to her calendar and stood on his hind legs to get a good look at the date. In the right hand corner was a solid black circle with the words 'New Moon' printed below it. _"Shit…"_ he swore as he dropped back to all fours. This was bad, very bad. _"What the **hell** am I gonna do?"_

"Inuyasha—" Kagome started when her mother called.

"Kagome! Houjou's here!"

"Coming!" she hollered back. Peering at her dog for a moment, she knelt fore him and massaged his head affectionately. She looked him straight in the eyes as she instructed, "Behave. Stay here, Inuyasha. You can't come with me." Giving him a kiss on the tip of his black nose, the girl rose, grabbed her backpack purse and headed out the bedroom door.

His ears drooped as he pouted for a second. _"I don't want you to go with that human spawn! Kagome!"_ He chased after her, yapping loudly. _"Kagome! Kagome—stop! Heel! Lay! Sit!"_ Of course, as he presumed, she didn't. She only waved and yelled a farewell, tapping her boot as she passed through the entry way, a smile on her face as the front door slammed shut on his protests and his heart. Coming to a halt, Inuyasha whimpered his immense displeasure with a great deal of colorful language. Tail hanging lower than usual, ears pitching back, the hanyou sauntered his very pathetic and sorry-looking ass back up to Kagome's room.

The sky was an onyx mass by that point, with one, thin strip of the sun still lighting the horizon. Convinced that the family downstairs wouldn't be coming up anytime soon—Souta was playing video games, Gramps was checking charms, and Mama was making dinner—he managed to work the door closed and smacked the lock with his paws. Pacing to and fro, Inuyasha didn't pay any mind to the cat that had stalked in right after him, now taking up residence on Kagome's pillow.

_Any minute now,_ he thought, licking his chops anxiously.

That's when he felt it.

Soft at first, then gaining in strength.

A pulse.

It tingled throughout his body and he ceased his back and forth march.

That was followed by another.

And another.

And another.

It didn't hurt.

Not really.

It just was very slow going as he felt his bones rearrange and alter in length, an odd feeling indeed. He stretched what had been his front paws forward, which were gradually turning into calloused hands with long fingers, which gripped tightly at the blue carpeting of the girl's room. Hind legs, likewise, became elongated and more linear. The snout regressed back into a human nose, mouth, and cheekbones; which was pulled into a tight grimace, as the width of his face became fuller and more oval-shaped. His eyes adjusted in position, and he squeezed them tightly shut. Torso becoming broader, and muscles applying themselves in shifted location, the boy flopped to the floor completely on his belly. He laid there for a while, catching his breath.

It hadn't stung this time or anything, it was just so strange that Inuyasha always found himself holding his breath behind grinding teeth.

Gradually, he sat up, charcoal-hued hair washing in a lengthy fall over his bare back and chest. He opened his indigo eyes and gazed around the room curiously. Everything of Kagome's room seemed completely different. Probably because he'd normally have to stand on his back paws to reach even this height. Carefully rising to his feet, swaying a bit from side to side, Inuyasha staggered his way to the same mirror the girl had stood at only minutes ago.

Despite the fact that this happened only once a month, Inuyasha had to admit he didn't look too haggard like the last time he'd changed. Still, he frowned at his waist-and-up reflection. That damn collar was still fastened tightly around his throat, which had so conveniently adjusted itself to his thicker neck. "I wonder if I can get off now," he whispered to himself, voice cracking from infrequent use as he raised his fingertips to the silver clasp. "All those other times I reverted to a human, Kikyou had bound me hand and foot before the change took place." Pushing on the scaly choker, a sudden effervescent light nipped at his working hands, lashing out at his palms. Hissing and growling simultaneously, Inuyasha blew on his lightly singed flesh. "Damn bitch. Her stupid shield still works."

Shaking his more burning hand, he resumed pacing. "What should I do…?" He gave a quiet snarl, mindful to keep his voice low so as not to be detected; that wouldn't look good to find a stranger up in Kagome's room. Still… "She's off on a date with that guy. I don't like it. Wonder what fucking theater they went to."

_"Cinema 27. I think it's a complex in downtown Tokyo."_

Glancing over to the bed, the boy spotted Buyo, curled up in a ball staring at him. "I can still understand you?" he asked in an amused sort of astonishment.

_"Guess so. Anyway, it's a pretty popular place to go see movies."_ Buyo's tail twitched as he sought to remember details. _"I think Kagome's said it was on Mikoto Street. That's all I really know."_

Inuyasha nodded. "More than I did. First thing's first…" he glanced down at his bare-flesh body, thanking the gods that Kagome wasn't around to see this as that would be pretty discomfiting plus hard to explain; however, if another member of the family should…. "I need to get some clothes." Sneaking over to the closet, he began rummaging for anything that might've been unisex and enormously jumbo-Kagome size.

_"You're not actually going to go after her, are you?"_ inquired the feline as he hopped off the bed with a thud, trotting on his chubby legs to the dog-turned-boy.

He continued to fumble around, and responded in a muffled voice, "What of it? I ain't letting her go with that Homo kid." Finally finding something for the moment, although rather embarrassed at the idea of wearing it, he stood up with the long robe. "I'm going to follow. I don't trust that whole nice-guy-I'm-so-innocent routine."

_"What if the guy really is that naïve?"_

"If he's that fucking _nice_," Inuyasha slipped one fuzzy pink sleeve over an arm, "then there's no way I'll allow him with Kagome. If that stupid jack ass is probably some form of pushover, and if someone hones in on that, she could be in serious trouble." He pulled the bathrobe closed and haphazardly secured it around his waist. "Even if I haven't lived in Tokyo for fifty years, I can still tell that it hasn't changed much in regards to big city life. I gotta keep an eye on her and make sure…nothing, uh, happens." Whirling swiftly on his heel, he started to scan the room for some outside clothes.

That would be a lot more awkward to be walking around in Tokyo proper with only a teenage girl's bathrobe on.

Not saying anything, Buyo went over to the bedroom door and scratched at the wood, looking back at the guy. _"Let me out."_

"What the hell?!" shushed Inuyasha, stopping mid-search of Kagome's shirt drawer, glaring at the calico. "Are you crazy?! I could get caught---like this!" He gestured to his present form.

_"Well, the late Mr. Higurashi's clothes are still kept in his wife's closet. Just give me a couple of minutes and I might be able to find something. The closet's always open so I can nap in there, so I should be able to get it to you pretty fast."_

"You'd better, cat," admonished the boy as he strode to the portal, unlocking and cracking open the door, "or you won't be so 'cute and chubby' anymore."

With merely a flick of his tail, Buyo disappeared into the hallway.

Deciding to leave it ajar that tiny bit, Inuyasha ambled to the desk, as no one would see him unless they entered the room, and took a seat in the chair. Felt odd to be able to move his limbs freely, but it was nice, in addition, able stand up to his full height; the transforming-into-a-nude-teenage-guy thing was something he was used to. He didn't find it pleasant, but after fifty years of it occurring, it just got to be a ritual of sorts; it'd happened roughly six-hundred times, after all. Kind of funny to turn into the Furless Wonder one night a month.

Waiting for the cat was a bit boring, so he poked at the books Kagome had left on her writing table. Her Trigonometry book was pushed to a far corner along with a notebook. It was bookmarked at one page. He was about to find out what she'd been reading when he heard the hinges make a soft creak. He ducked under the desk for a moment, until he spied Buyo dragging a pair of black jeans and a red sweater soon after that. Crawling out from his hiding place, he watched as his feline pal brought a pair of fish patterned boxers over to the pile of clothing.

Buyo sat back on his wide rump and stared at Inuyasha as he hastily slipped the garments on. _"That's all I could get. You're on your own when it comes to getting in the theater and shoes." _

The boy bobbled his noggin as he finished zipping up the pants and started pulling the sweater over his head. Straightening his clothes out, he glanced down at the cat with a fond smile. Getting to his haunches, he gave his animal friend a quick rub down before standing up and getting to the window. "I think I can get the rest from here, Buyo. Thanks." Stalking to the sliding window, Inuyasha lifted one leg on top of the ledge, judging his distance from where he was currently at, and the tree outside the porthole. With almost unearthly grace, he got his tough soled feet on the slider, one hand grasping the frame a little.

_"Are you going to jump?"_

Turning his head with an arrogant smirk, "How the hell else am I supposed to follow if I can't get out through the front door? Later, cat." With that, Inuyasha leapt out the window and caught hold of one of the tree boughs. Swinging and hopping, he descended till he landed fairly inaudibly on the patch of grass below. Straightening up, he took off, hoping he'd be able to find Kagome and that guy.

Hopefully the street set-up hadn't changed too much in fifty years.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I think my chapters are getting progressively longer. Anyway, this is my most popular story. What did you think of this chapter? I hope you all are enjoying this, and the reviews I am getting are making me pretty damn cheerful. Did you all have a Happy New Year? I hope so. Mine was pretty funny. Are you glad I managed to sneak Sango in? More plot twisting for you all. What do you think is going to happen on this "date" of Houjou and Kagome's? What will be Inuyasha's role? I'm just curious at what you all are thinking right now.

Inuyasha: is sitting quietly with his back to the authoress

What're you doing?

Inuyasha:….

Hello?

Inuyasha:….

walks over to see what he's doing 0.0 Why are you playing with a gelatin cube?

Inuyasha: confusedly I don't get why it keep wiggling….

Ok…

Anyways, people can either suggest new Inu-torture, or you guys can ask him and Kagome questions. Hehehe….

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow


	7. Popcorn Blues

_Disclaimer_: ("Signs" does not belong to me….)I DO OWN INUYASHA! HAHAHAHAHA! deep breath Well, now that that's out of my system…in all seriousness, folks, I don't own him. sigh If only….

A/N: Ok, well, I got some questions for the crew (and for myself!) and I'll answer some of my reviewers. (There's so many that my hard copy would be very long indeed, lol!)

**_ElfinKat_**O O ! waves hand in air I have a question!  
For Yash: Why were you so keen on keeping Kag there, hmm? You knew when you transformed you were going to be completely nekkid  
For Moonlight or Kag: What would Kag have done had she been there?  
For Yash: What would your response have been?

Inuyasha: big eyes I didn't want her to go with that stupid idiot….

He wasn't thinking clearly, thinking things thru, like usual. For your other question, since Kagome isn't supposed to know about this yet clears throat she probably would've done something like this. deep breath KYAAAAA! Though much longer.

Inuyasha: My response…? blink, blink, blush Shit….

**_KougasMyMan_**Kagome what would you do if you walked in on Inuyasha trying on your bras? And Inuyasha do you even know what a bra is?

Since I'm still answering her questions at this point, Kagome probably (in the series) would have done this: "Um…Inuyasha…could you—uh--put that away…. S-sit!" Blushing furiously, too, I suspect. Or "You pervert! SIT!" Either way, you're good.

Inuyasha: Yes! I know what one of those, uh…_things_ are. is beet red as his bottom lip creeps out But I ain't about to tell _you_ how I know…

**_thegymrat_** Did the transformation really remind you of "Animorphs"? I only saw the show, never read the books.

**_Houndingwolf_** blush, skims the ground with her toe W-well…thank you for those nice words. But, I'm sure there are better fanfic authors than me… Still, thank you!

**_Lechan1: _**Can't tell you that. Questions to main plot, I don't answer. Sorry! You can guess though.

**_mkh2 (Mikki):_** Wish I could take a 4 hour nap…. Why are you miffed over pizza crusts?

**_hanyoupup_**Thanks!

**_Wakadori_****_ Ramen:_** Nice name! Yeah, I bet my animals have a thing or two they'd like to say to me.

**_Ghoul King:_** Damn exclamation points, I know…this supposed to annoy me? Not likely, keep trying! LOL. (BTW, I used to RP—hence my penname—as a mage in a village that battled the undead. Weird.)

**_Burning-Yami-Rain _**& **_AuroraThorn_** Same idea!

**_Queen Klu:_** I did miss you! And I'll talk about his clothes; hope that'll clear up your, uh, desires.

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to _Yin Yang236 _who celebrated a 21st birthday on January 7th! Belated Happy Birthday!**

_Chapter Seven: Popcorn Blues_

"So, what kind of movie do you want to see, Higurashi?" asked Houjou as they walked along.

The wind blew in spry gusts, causing Kagome to frisson a bit, hugging her long, tan leather jacket closer around her petite form. Ducking her head down slightly, she braced herself as another nippy eddy harassed her face. "Not sure," came the half-frozen, muffled reply from blue-tinged lips. Her trembling-with-cold fingers quickly brought her hunter scarf over her mouth before shoving her hand back in her pocket, mentally chiding herself for being so scatter-brained as to forget something as crucial as gloves when another famously harsh Japanese winter was looming near. It felt like snow would fall at anytime.

Glancing over to her, the boy stated the obvious, "You cold, Higurashi?"

Nodding deafly, she managed an, "Uh-huh."

Houjou, never wanting to be too forward, such as putting an arm around the shivering girl, smiled cheerfully. "Well, we'll be at the cinema soon. Just pretend it's not even cold outside. Pretend it's a nice, warm summer."

"R-r-right," Kagome grumbled tartly, teeth chattering like no tomorrow. _You're not the one freezing, though!_

The sidewalk seemed very long in the dimness of early evening. The streetlamps hummed as they made rings of yellowish light on the gray concrete. Multicolored neon signs greeted them as they got closer to the shopping arcade. Other scores of movie goers trolled in the general direction as the pair.

Soon, a rather large slate and maroon checked building came into view. Posters for the latest flicks were illuminated by the bulbs riveted around all four sides. A couple of kids' movies, hormone-driven teen features, and higher-rated films along with several more were being shown. Below each, the playing times were listed.

A few of them, upon inspection, Kagome realized she'd seen already. The kiddy movies she'd seen with Souta not long prior to getting Inuyasha. She skimmed her boot's toe over the frozen sidewalk guiltily. Albeit she'd said adieu to her pet, the look in those fiery orbs had seemed so dejected, especially with the way his ears drooped in conjunction with his tail. That mutt could get under her skin easier than any pet or person she'd ever known. Still, why had she felt so rueful? Like this was wronging him in some way? It was almost a sensation of cheating or something…which was absolutely ridiculous because she was a human and he was a canine.

Simple as that.

Although that walk through the freezing cold had seemed _much_ longer than when she took Souta, or Sango and Miroku to with her for some reason…

"Would you mind seeing that movie _Signs_?" Houjou queried hesitantly.

Tearing her eyes off the poster she'd been staring in the general direction of—despite the fact she didn't remember what was even _on_ it--, wondering why they couldn't discuss the stupid movies in the stupid lobby of the stupid theater--then forcing herself the breathe deep and think happy thoughts, that the wintry weather was what was making her attitude so biting--, she smiled with a bob of her head. "Yeah. I like Mel Gibson. For an American actor, he's very good."

Beaming broadly, the boy bubbled, "Great! Let's get tickets then!"

Sighing in relief at the notion of being warm, Kagome started for the glass doors. "Ok."

Luckily, the theater wasn't overly crowded, due to its mammoth size that Kagome and Houjou managed to get in line fairly quickly. Another plus was that they got to wait in the warmth inside, as the girl had predicted.

Stepping closer up to the counter, the young lady wondered how her date could have such a big grin. Though it was sort of endearing, didn't his cheeks hurt? They were still awfully pink. Or was he blushing like he _always_ did when he spoke to her?

Houjou chattered non-stop about things going on at school, classes, latest news, how he'd been doing so far. He only ceased when they reached the ticked counter. "One ticket for _Signs_, please."

Blinking, the dark-haired girl stared at his back in bemusement. "Just _one_ ticket, Houjou?"

Whirling around, bafflement lighting his brown eyes, the boy peered at her. "I thought we were going Dutch, Higurashi."

"'Going Dutch'?" she echoed back, hearing a few restless humans and demons jostling behind her.

"Yeah, I thought you were paying for yourself." Suddenly brightening up, oblivious—or just plain ignorant—to her fuming visage, he spouted off, "Well, that's alright then! I'll pay for you, and you can pay me back later, Higurashi."

She felt a vein pop as she calmed herself, whilst the boy went back to purchasing her ticket. _Pay you back…? You're kidding me…. What kind of date is this supposed to be, anyway?_ Rubbing her forehead with a finger, she wasn't certain if she wanted to contemplate any deeper on that. "Sure, Houjou," she grumbled as she followed him through the double doors and into the waiting area/food court.

The lines were moving pretty swiftly, due to the earlier showing; when the seven-thirty throng hit, it'd be more bustling than the current trot of things.

Unzipping his dark green jacket to reveal a nice, button-up periwinkle shirt, the lad fumbled with his money for a moment, eyes glimpsing at the snack items. "Wanna get something, Higurashi?"

Rather dully glaring at him, Kagome said in the same manner, "Are you sure I won't have to pay for it?"

Perplexed again--as he seemed to be so easily--he gaped at her. "Higurashi," he started off quite slowly before breaking out into exuberance _again,_ "what would make you think a silly thing like that?"

Forcing herself not to pratfall, she gawked for a moment. _But you just…and I…pay back…? Ugh! Never mind…._ Feigning sweetness in her tone, struggling to restrain from doing and/or saying something austere, herself as her aggravation level went up a few notches, "I don't know, Houjou."

"You're so funny, Higurashi," he laughed whilst she sighed and admitted defeat.

After waiting in line for a little while as Houjou told the girl how thrilled he was to be able to go out with her. It did succeed in making Kagome smile timidly, returning him to her good graces.

Getting a large bag of popcorn—with extra butter, naturally—, two sodas, and some candies, the pair meandered to the entrance of the hall of showings. The boy gazed around, commenting enthusiastically on all the movies that were going to be playing in the near future, and questioning his date on her opinion. Most of them time it was a thoughtful, "Looks good," or a distracted, "Looks like a remake."

A tired looking college kid stood at the small ticket receptacle, appearing that he'd rather be working on Sociology homework than be on duty that night; at the moment, he was staring at his claws with enormous interest.

Still holding both of their tickets, Houjou proudly thrust them at the guy, who stared at him like he was some form of lunatic. With a sigh, the theater worker ripped the vouchers and gave the stubs back. "Have a good night and enjoy your picture," he said rather mechanically, though he managed a quick smile for Kagome when she passed. He also whispered to her, "And good luck making it thru the whole showing with that guy."

"Eh?" was all she managed, peering at Houjou's retreating backside; awful pathetic if people noticed how—well—pitiable the direction this date was heading so far…. "Uh, thanks---I think…." Assuring her self that first dates weren't always so magical and wonderful, and supposing that even a polite, attractive boy like Houjou hadn't been on too many in the past, Kagome took a deep breath before putting on a plucky grin and jogging up to her date.

He spun around and pointed to a doorway a little ways down the hall. "Our movie's not far off. Let's hurry; I don't want to miss the previews."

Previews? Kagome hated the previews. Well, they were ok, she supposed, but she came to the picture, not the advertisements; however, she didn't lose heart that this date would turn out alright, regardless of something as petty as cinema going preferences. It wasn't like it was critical that they agreed on every minute detail. "Let's go then."

"Great!" Striding swiftly ahead, Houjou made his route to the entryway with a few stretches of his long legs.

Poor Kagome, on the other hand, who was no where _near_ as tall as the boy—who was only half Japanese and had inherited the height trait of a foreigner—had to scuttle as quick as she dared. At least he waited for her to meet him. She was a tad more endeared to him when he held open the door for her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Higurashi." He gave a small bow, which was rather funny as he had the bag of popcorn tucked under one arm along with his drink in his other hand. Some of the popcorn spilt onto the red carpeting, and the boy looked more than a little embarrassed and befuddled as to what course of action to take.

Giggling into her palm, Kagome crouched down and scooped up the excess food and tossed it into the trashcan when she stood. Shaking her head, still laughing, she grabbed Houjou's arm and led him into the theater, the lights having yet dimmed. "Don't worry about that. We picked up most of it."

"Th-th-thanks, H-H-Higurashi," he stammered as they wound their way around up to the middle tier of the stadium seats.

Pausing to glance at him, she asked, "Houjou, why are you blushing?"

"W-well, I—um—you are…" he stuttered again previous to finally gesturing with his noggin at her hand, which continued to grasp his forearm.

"Oh, oops, sorry," she apologized. She slipped her hand off and toddled before him as they slid into the row; Houjou accidentally stepped on her toes, earning a stifled hiss of pain from her.

He did, however, act contrite because of his deed, saying sorry copiously. To help rectify his klutziness, the boy made silly faces at her and read the trivia questions in funny voices. His grin got very wide each time Kagome giggled at his antics. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I was actually worried you weren't having a good time to start off with."

The girl smiled gently at him, waving a hand. "Are you kidding? I'm having a wonderful time." _Though some of that babble I could've been without…._

"Good." Gradually, the torch-style lights on the walls lowered, and only the glow of the screen and the small bulbs along the walkways illuminated the theater. "Great! The previews are starting."

"Yeah, I guess," Kagome half-heartedly agreed with a shrug. Sipping a bit of her lemon-lime soda, observing as the familiar dancing popcorn and soda came across the screen, idly listening to Houjou's excited remarks, which she was going to endure for the next fifteen minutes at least. Sliding off her jacket and scarf with a petite moan, _This__ is going to be one long date…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Gods it's fucking cold out…_ thought Inuyasha as he trudged along barefoot on the footway. He bowed his head low, hands shoved in his pockets, extremely thankful to that fat feline lying back at home. Buyo had picked out a ribbed, turtleneck sweater that would hide his collar from view. It held nicely to his form, and definitely kept him warm, but not so bundled up that he wasn't mobile. He'd have to reward that fur ball later on, if he got the chance.

Maybe if he was _really_ lucky he could get this blasted collar off tonight.

If that happened, he'd be more than glad to purchase a miniature palace for that feline.

Inuyasha brought a fist up and rubbed a numbing cheek with his knuckles. "Only a couple of blocks more," he whispered to himself. He'd managed to find a map from a phonebook, which he ripped out, and double checked his directions with a passerby.

The woman had been totally stunned by his lack of footwear and had given him some yen, insisting that he go buy some shoes. She had constantly kept saying that Buddha would bless him and release his soul from bondage, whatever the hell that meant. Yet it was almost humorous at how unwittingly correct she was. She'd inquired if there was anything else she could do besides donate some funds and give him directions.

He'd thought it over, and asked her--courteously enough that would have made his mother proud, as well as keep his nerves in check—if she could please remove the leather choker around his throat; he explained with a faint chuckle that a young fox-demon had played a trick on him while he was sleeping at his friend's house. He went on by saying that the same fox-child had destroyed his sneakers with his Kitsunebi.

Obliging with a laugh, the woman had reached up to the silver clasp when Inuyasha lowered the neck of his sweater; however, when she touched it, a barrier crackled around it and she yanked her hands away.

He expressed his regret, saying that he hadn't expected the child to have put such a barrier on the choker. Showing his appreciation of her for all the help, he had watched as she hesitatingly walked away, thinking bitterly about Kikyou's long-forgotten words when he'd had the spell placed on him fifty years ago.

_"Only a priestess, a powerful miko like me, will ever be strong enough to remove that collar, Inuyasha." She snickered, placing a graceful, ashen hand over her mouth as she did, tittering glibly. "Don't whimper so, Inuyasha; it's unbecoming."_

Gods, how he hated that bitch.

And to think he'd actually believed he'd _loved_ her at one point in his crazy life.

With a sigh, he tramped around the few people milling along the Tokyo walkway, only having one thing fueling his mind: find Kagome. Now.

Pausing at a crosswalk, Inuyasha waited none too patiently as the cars whizzed by. He crossed his arms and drummed his fingertips in irritation. He really wished that the world would freeze and let him just cross already! Why couldn't the whole damn city, if not the entire earth, cease what it was doing so he, the great Inuyasha, could cross the fucking street?

Ok, maybe his nerves were starting to bother him. Still, hopeful thought, anyway, right?

After an eternity of thirty seconds, the vehicles came to a halt at the handy white line, and the green pedestrian walk sign flickered on across the way. Loping over the pavement, Inuyasha made it to the other footway, the theater not far off. Full out sprinting, the boy dodged around people, determined to get to there as fast as he could. Every second he knew that Kagome was with that scrawny human—he, of course, was above that kid—it made Inuyasha more perturbed; heart pounding hard, an odd sort of dread rushing through his veins, the boy gnawed on his bottom lip as he willed his body to move with the speed it had once retained once upon fifty years ago.

Zooming through the double doors of the lobby, Inuyasha slipped to a stop, grasping onto the velvet rope as he ground his feet into the damp mat. He shook his head, and, seeing that the line was way too long, and he having no shoes—remembering the 'no shoes, no service' policy—the lad took the time to warm up and think of a plan.

_I don't have a lot of choices here,_ he thought, watching people filter passed him. _I can try and get through by running this way, but there's too much space for them to catch me. I don't even know what film Kagome's seeing, anyway._ Smirking, his answer came. _But I can sneak in thru the alleyway._ Decision made, he skirted out again.

Inuyasha jogged the edge of the block until he came to the alley. Sidling in, he searched for a door that opened into the cinema. Finding a side-door of sorts, he entered. As the door shut after him, the boy found himself cloaked in darkness. Glimpsing around quickly, he was startled when a bright light shined in directly in his eyes.

Holding a hand up to shield his vision, he peered up through his eyelashes at a gangly teenage guy. He gripped the black flashlight menacingly, glowering at Inuyasha. "I didn't see you come in. Where's your ticket?"

Bringing his gaze down to the guy's feet, dressed in a nice pair of newer red high-tops, he inquired with a derisively light tone, "You've got good-sized feet, don't you?"

Raising an eyebrow curiously, the theater worker responded slowly, "Yeah, I do."

Looking back up to him, Inuyasha smirked. "Good, so do I." He raised his fist a bit. "Don't take this personally." Rearing his fist back, he slammed it into the side of the guy's face. He waited as the other boy stood there, stunned for a moment—countenance a complete blank-- previous to keeling in front of him.

Crouching down, Inuyasha untied the running shoes' laces and removed them from the guy's feet. Sliding the pair on and finding that they fit pretty well considering they were already broken in a bit, he laced them up. He got up, wiggling his toes a little with satisfaction. The boy lifted his foot to step over the body of the fallen male, when he reversed the action with an annoyed sigh; fiddling in his pocket for a moment, he retrieved a few bills and stuck them in his hand. "Like I said, nothing personal, kid," he stated, shutting off the flashlight.

Strutting into the shadow-filled chamber in his permanently borrowed sneakers, Inuyasha climbed the red carpeted stairs, scanning the rows for Kagome. He spotted her about midway, seated next to that dork. He felt a growl start in his throat, not his most intimidating, and was shushed by a nearby cat-demon. Making a face, the boy sought out a seat close enough to pair, but not so close that he was easily noticed.

The whole row behind them was completely empty. Staring rather longingly at Kagome as he passed, he was a bit surprised when he saw her give him a quick dip of her head, flashing him a smile when she turned to pick up her fallen jacket. Giving a brief half-smile in return, he moved to the level behind her, waiting for the choicest moment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome was sitting on the edge of her seat, absolutely engrossed in the plot line. Right now, Mel Gibson's character was outside a pantry door where, locked within, was the alien, but no one could be for sure. She held her breath as she watched the character grab a knife from the kitchen and use the shiny surface as a mirror to see what was prowling on the other side; at the moment, she was oblivious to Houjou's arm draped around the back of her chair.

She leaned forward even more, as was most of the audience, when they all saw a flash of green legs pacing the floor. The movement stopped, and the girl exhaled and inhaled once quickly, eyes still glued.

Then, suddenly, as Houjou leaned over to brush away a tendril of her hair, the creature shot its hand through the gap and Kagome screeched as the boy's fingers came in contact with her skin. Her own hands flew up to the sides, one of which smacked her date right in the face. Gasping, she whipped her head around to stare at the boy.

The unfortunate Houjou sat with his palms clasped over his nose, a rivulet of dark liquid trickling around over his lips and chin. A few people turned to see what all the fuss was about.

"Oh! Houjou!" she gasped again, shakily scrounging up a handkerchief from her purse. Pushing his hands out of the way and laying the cloth on top of his bleeding nose, she requested forgiveness. "I really didn't mean to—oh, Houjou, I'm _so, so_ sorry!"

He took in a few deep breaths, moving his fingers to the place where hers had been, attempting to stanch the flow. Smiling encouragingly, he laughed faintly, "You have a really strong backhand, Higurashi." Seeing, even in the dimness of the theater—and his own little brain—that she blanched, he hastily added on, "But I'll really be fine. It doesn't hurt all _that_ much."

"Uh…hehe…" she managed weakly, trailing off as pink stained her cheeks out of disparaging embarrassment and remorse. She struggled to ignore the sniggers of the group of teenage guys seated across the aisle. "You should probably get that cleaned up."

Standing up carefully, Houjou made a feeble nod. "I'll wash up in the men's room."

"Ok," she said as he sidestepped out. With a sigh, Kagome rubbed a temple with her forefinger. This was going pretty bad for a first date. She was about to refocus her attention back on the film, when she felt somebody slide into Houjou's vacant seat. Glancing over, she saw a guy with bleached hair, maybe two or three years older than she; he was one of the young men from moments ago that had been chortling at her poor suitor's expense.

"It looks like your date isn't going so well," the guy said, leaning towards her and throwing an arm around her shoulders. Drawing her closer, albeit she wriggled, he whispered into her ear, "So, how about me and my boys show you the town tonight?"

"Leave me alone!" Kagome shoved against the guy's chest as she sought to rise.

"Sit down," he chuckled scathingly, grabbing her around the waist and yanking her to her seat again. "Enjoy the movie."

"Hey, bastard, she said she wants you to leave her alone, so leave her the hell alone!" a new male voice barked from behind. Simultaneously, the owner of the voice had leapt over the tier, wrenched the other boy's hold from around Kagome, and impelled the kid into a wall, seizing him by the throat. He began off, in a mock-playful tone, "Look, we can do this one of two ways. The first is that you _don't_ get your ass kicked, and you go back to your loser friends.

"The second is one I like a bit more. I kick you ass now," the boy gave a sharp squeeze on the other's neck, "and make you wish you'd never laid your eyes on that girl. Do you understand?"

Bobbing his noggin quickly in his restraining position, he spluttered in a croaky voice, "Y-yeah…."

"Glad a simpleton like you gets the message." With that, the rescuer let the guy drop to the floor. "Now get out of here before I stop feeling so damn gracious." Waiting until the other guy left, he shimmied over to Kagome. "Are you ok? He didn't hurt you or anything?" he asked, worry lighting his eyes.

"Uh---no," she replied, shaking her head. "Just scared me."

"Good." He took over as the third claimer of Houjou's seat. Turning his gaze to her, he asked calmly, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Huh? Oh no, that's fine." The girl smiled at him. _Weird…it seems like I've heard that voice from somewhere before._ They watched a majority of the movie in silence; Kagome even shared her chocolate mints and the remainder of popcorn with him.

At one point, towards the last ten minutes or so—Houjou had still yet to return--, they both reached in for some more popcorn and in return grabbed something else entirely. "Sorry," the boy said, quickly releasing her hand. "I was, uh…"

"Looking for some popcorn, right?" she finished, swiveling her head to face him. Warmth was spreading steadily across the bridge of her nose, swimming down her cheeks.

"Right."

Finally, the credits started to roll and the lights brightened. The people began to get up and stretch with their voices a boisterous as they discussed the various elements of the motion picture; a few couples that had used the film for other purposes leapt speedily to their feet hustled out.

Kagome also got up and worked her stiff muscles. "That was a really good movie!" Pivoting her gaze to her savior, she suddenly felt a little nervous and self-conscious. Her knight in shining armor had turned out to be an _impossibly_ handsome human boy.

He had a stalwart jaw and a long, rather sharp, nose. Deep, midnight black hair fell, unbound, to waist level, which dropped the masculinity of some guys or just made them look utterly ridiculous, yet it was well-suited for this particular boy. She also could tell from the way his clothes hung that he had an agile, lean build.

Yet, that wasn't what seemed to draw her to him.

It was his eyes.

They were an intense wine color framed by dark eyebrows and nice lashes. His irises were spiked with the occasional deep swirls of burgundy and sapphire that hadn't quite coalesced; inexplicably, though, his pupils were slotted like a cat's.

And at that moment, those alluring eyes were paying attention to her.

"Should we check on that friend of yours?" he inquired, a smile seeming to tug on the edge of his lips at her flustered, pink face as he strode out of the row.

"Um, sure." She swiftly picked up her purse, Houjou's coat, and slipped on her own jacket before catching up to where he waited. Together, they began to descend the theater steps, when she halted.

Subsequently, the boy was surprised. "Why'd you stop?" He quirked an eyebrow as she turned to face him.

She grinned at him. "You never told me your name. Mine's Kagome. What's yours?"

At that, Inuyasha's heart whammed against his ribcage agitatedly. How could he not have thought of something as simple as this? Of course she'd want to know his name when they met like this, but what in the seven hells was he supposed to tell her? Inuyasha couldn't very well come out and tell her the truth, as how would he explain that to her? It wasn't very often one meets another with the actual given name the same as their dog, and wearing the same collar, no less.

Hell, it wasn't everyday that someone met a humanoid being that claimed to be their _house_ _pet_ on a moonless night.

That would ensure a one-way ticket to the Funny Farm.

However, as all the questions fluttered round his brain in a matter of nanoseconds, his mouth—the most frequently used and functioning part of his anatomy—took over. "Taisho. My name is Taisho." His voice, luckily, came our neither hesitant nor uncertain. But… _I used Father's name…_ Inuyasha thought, awed slightly, in tandem, reverently. _Hope I don't do anything to shame it._

Previously to brightly smiling, the girl seemed taken aback for a moment. Still, Kagome nodded as the odd sentiment departed. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Taisho."

They swung around to the lower level and exited. Reaching the hallway, they bumbled their way over to the restrooms, when they spotted a familiar noggin full of ruddy-sandy hair. Changing course, Kagome and 'Taisho' sprinted to where Houjou sat on a plump sofa. With his head between his legs—spaced about shoulder width apart-- the handkerchief was pressed tightly on top of his nose.

Upon hearing footfalls advancing his way, the male brought his gaze up. He waved at them. "Hey, Kagome," he said, the words muffled by the white cotton cloth.

"Hi, Houjou." She knelt down in front of him, eyes filled with guilt. "I really didn't mean for this to happen."

He made a little bob of his cranium in response. "I know…. Higurashi, I'm really sorry."

The girl blinked. "Huh? Why are _you_ sorry?"

Lowering his peering to the white and black speckled tile, he ashamedly said, "I know this date turned out terrible."

"Houjou…"

"And I know it wasn't exactly ideal, what with you hitting me in the nose." Thankfully he didn't notice the ashamed look on the girl's face switch to irritation as she clenched a fist. "I know you didn't mean to, Higurashi." Turning his kindly brown eyes on her, giving her a softening glimpse, he told her in quiet assurance, "I'm sure you can't help it that you're a klutz."

That pratfall she'd felt approaching earlier finally got its way as the lass tumbled to one side. Swiftly righting herself, she hid her embarrassment. **_I'm _**_the klutz! You're the one who was bumbling around! _Kagome mentally railed angrily. She spared a glance at 'Taisho' as he snickered at her. After a mild glare sent was his way, she fixed it on Houjou, speaking rigidly, "Well, let's not dwell on that, ok? Instead, how's your nose doing?"

"It's doing better," he admitted, scooting rearwards on the sofa cushion. "It hasn't stopped bleeding, though."

"Oh…I see…."

Noticing for the first time the boy standing with her, glowering at him, Houjou grinned behind the hankie. "Hi! Are you a friend of Higurashi's?"

"…A new acquaintance," Inuyasha replied, still eyeballing the other male warily. _I've only known Kagome a month, but yeah, I'm a new acquaintance, even if I've shared meals with her, sleep in her bed…._ Alright, maybe that thought was taking on the wrong connotation, so the boy curbed it before any more of his testosterone-induced nature came into play. He was NOT a gutter-mind! Swallowing the insult he wanted to launch at Houjou, "You know, if your nose is bleeding so badly, you should probably have someone pick you up and take you home." _Weakling,_ he added in his mind.

"But, I can't leave Higurashi by herself--," Houjou began.

"I'm sure I can get a ride or something home--," also started Kagome when her mouth suddenly shut and she groaned, smacking her forehead with her palm. "I can't believe this!"

"No, need to get upset, Higurashi," her failed date stated serenely.

Inuyasha spoke right after the other boy. "What is it?"

She, having buried her countenance in her hands, gradually raised her head. Tiredness marred her face heavily. "My little brother and my mom were going to an indoor soccer game."

Houjou suggested helpfully, "What about your grandfather?"

Patience wearing ever thinner, and struggling to resist the slight homicidal urges that always began to pulsate through her when she got miffed, she replied loudly, "As if I'd let Gramps behind the wheel of a car, especially with me in it!"

Watching the whole escapade with a hidden smirk of triumph, Inuyasha looked pointedly at Kagome. "What if I walk you home?"

"What? Really?" she asked, startled.

He replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, sure. No problem, just tell me where you live." As if he didn't already know where she lived, in addition to her bedroom décor.

Kagome pondered for a moment, studying the new boy. What was it about him? It was so strange, she never _this_ trusting. Yet, somehow…she just knew she could trust him, that he wouldn't hurt her or anything, just the opposite. _It's like I've met him before…._ "Ok, Taisho. Houjou, have your mom come and pick you up. I'll be fine."

Nodding, and then cringing in pain, the boy waved. "Be safe, Higurashi. I'll see you another time."

"See you." Kagome waved as she and 'Taisho' padded out of the cinema complex. "I live at the Sunset Shrine in the heart of Tokyo. It should take us about fifteen to twenty minutes to get there. Do you know where that is?"

"Yeah. I've been there several times."

"Really? I've never seen you there."

He smirked like a ghost. "I have a way of being pretty damn unnoticeable."

The wind chill must have descended a few degrees, as a few icicles could be seen hanging off a nearby streetlamp. Together, the pair made it to the crosswalk. They waited in a thick silence as they watched for the "Don't Walk" light to change.

Inuyasha wasn't quite sure what to do from this point, now that he was alone with her; he hadn't exactly planned this far ahead. Alright, he _never_ planned anything other than somehow getting out of the house and tracking her down from there. He was just playing it by ear.

Strategy had never been his strong suit, give him a break.

At least he knew that, as mentioned previously, "Hey, I've been your dog for the past month," was definitely _not _a good conversation starter. Gods, he wasn't _that _much of a simpleton.

The sign changed and they walked across. It was eerily silent for Tokyo, even if this wasn't the heart of the thriving metropolis, it still was a huge city; only a handful of people and cars milled the road. The neon signs still glowed brightly, teasing the two by their radiating warmth.

"So," Kagome began, thankfully for him, "where are you from?"

"Tokyo," he answered. "I was born in Hitachi."

"Wow, that quite a ways."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I've lived in Tokyo pretty much my whole life. What about you?"

"I've lived in the shrine my whole life." She smiled at him. "It's the only home I've ever known."

He nodded. "I see."

For a while, the walk was fairly quiet; only fragments of conversation were exchanged, due to how cold it was. But also, it seemed like it was sufficient. When Inuyasha slyly asked if Houjou was Kagome's boyfriend, she made a face and rejected to the suggestion, to his immense pleasure.

Kagome continued to glance over at him, absolutely curious about him. It was this almost déjà vu feeling, like reliving a dream. She felt like she knew him, but she didn't know him. It was completely baffling and annoying and wonderful all at once.

He seemed to be a more of an introvert to her, and from what he told her about himself, she vicariously knew why. Apparently his older brother—whom he consistently liked to refer to as 'bastard'-- couldn't stand him and his parents had passed away when he was small; she hadn't pressed into either matter. She kind of grasped that it wouldn't have been wise.

Taisho's swearing habit made her giggle for some odd reason. It suited that brooding expression on his face and sarcastic tongue of his when they had a battle of words. Kagome supposed she didn't mind it so much, as Miroku could get such colorful language at times, and it was so refreshing after enduring Houjou for a majority of the night. Taisho didn't seem to mind the fact that she was a girl; he didn't get as bashful and shy as Houjou by any stretch of the imagination, and he seemed to know her so much better!

Nonetheless, there was a nagging sensation in her back of her mind. _Have we met before, Taisho?_ She couldn't quite place it, but there was something about him, like an aura. A very familiar aura.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said near inaudibly, breaking the stillness between as he spoke her name for the first time; it felt good on his lips and the taste on his tongue when he spoke it made him feel anxious. "You're…you're beautiful."

Red painted itself speedily and heavily over her cheeks. She looked away, twirling a lock of raven hair around her finger. "Thank you," she whispered, at a loss of words.

He gave her a half-smile. Everyday he was with Kagome, canine or human like this, he'd begun to feel a bit different. His heart seemed fuller and bigger, and life—cursed as he was—didn't seem so bad. It was as if being with her made everything better.

The sudden remedy for a fifty or more year illness reminded him of when he was young, when he believed a kiss could heal everything. Inuyasha gaze dropped a little to the ground. _The whole time I was with Kikyou, we never kissed._ _I don't think I ever really wanted to…_.

Inadvertently, the boy had found Kagome's lips in his line of sight; apparently they'd shifted upwards of their own accord during his contemplation. The throbbing, burning sensation that rippled throughout his chest took him by surprise, almost to the point of consuming. His emotions were going haywire and he was struggling to grasp onto a coherent thought to explain what was happening. Then he surmised his answer: _I want to kiss Kagome…._

They looked soft, and he mused what it would be like if he ever got to taste them.

Maybe if he was returned to his half-demon form, to be his true self, and she knew him a bit better, he could then.

Unfortunately, there was another damn stipulation to that stupid binding collar.

_"That collar can only be removed when you're a dog, Inuyasha," Kikyou said, pausing at the doorway. "Otherwise, it'll repel them, priestess or not. And I doubt that there's anyway for you to get them to take it off."_

Damn Kikyou! She thought of every fucking loophole possible! No way could he ever ask Kagome to remove the collar; she'd recognize it instantly as her dog's, and that would make for a less than good situation. But Inuyasha solidly refused that there was no hope of ever being a person again, even if he was reverted to the disgraceful, hated status of a hanyou. He would not let her stupid spell dictate his life, now that he was free from her.

Kagome's giggly voice interrupted his livid cogitation. "Oh, wow! Look, Taisho, it's snowing!"

"Hmm?" Glancing up into the opaque sky, Inuyasha could see snowflakes glide to the sidewalks, the rooftops, the car hoods and roofs, and couples like themselves moseying to their destinations. With a pensive expression, he spoke reflectively. "My mother used to tell me a story when I was little about when it snowed."

"Really?" the girl asked, turning her blue-grey eyes attentively on him. "What did she say?"

Thinking for a moment, he let out a deep laugh. "To tell you the truth—I can't remember right now."

Kagome smiled with a shake of her head. Glimpsing up, she saw they were at the base of the temple steps. "I live right up here."

_I know that. _"I'll walk you up."

"Are you sure this isn't out of your way, Taisho?" she inquired timidly.

"No, I don't live far from here." _Not far at all._ "Come on." Taking his hand and placing in on the small of her back, he ushered her upwards.

Surprised, but pleasantly so, Kagome allowed her escort to help her. They made it to the landing, and she dove into her purse and retrieved her house key, still ambling to the front door. "Thank you so much, Taisho."

He tilted his head at familiar angle as they came to a stop. "For what?"

She studied him for a moment, cobalt orbs shining in the moonlight. "For being so nice. You made those guys leave me alone, you walked me home…maybe, you know," she glimpsed down, "could come and eat dinner with my family as thanks."

He was started, when he responded, but endeared even more by the girl's shyness. "I…I'd like that."

His voice came out soft and tender, just like his eyes, when Kagome gazed up. His eyes were so well-known to her, in some way. She knew those pools of violet from somewhere…. _Do I know you, Taisho?_ Kagome asked herself. _We've never met, but I know you…somehow._ "Well, you're more than welcome to stop by the shrine any time. Stay warm." She pressed the key into the hole and gave it a turn. Sliding the front door open, gaze shifting back to the boy, she said, "Good night, Taisho."

"Good night…Kagome…" he whispered her name with a dreamy look coloring his expressive eyes. Stepping back torpidly as he watched her shut the door, Inuyasha whirled on his heel and sauntered his way to around the shrine grounds; the snow came in thicker collections on the stone. He meandered to the Goshinboku where he sat cross-legged at its base between the wide, gnarled roots on the frozen ground.

He was well aware that he couldn't very well return to the cozy shrine-house. Laying his dark-locked cranium against the bark of the thousand-year-old tree, Inuyasha longed for the warm blankets of Kagome's bed, of the sweet scent that perfumed the entire chamber, of the soft heat of Kagome's body cradling his doggy-form close as she slept with a cute smile on her pink lips. More snow collected on the boughs of the god-tree above him.

Inuyasha pined for Kagome. Even if he was stuck as a dog a majority of the time, at least he could be near her.

Glancing upwards to her bedroom, the boy spotted the girl at her window, presumably leaning on the wooden ledge from the warmth behind the glass. It was hard to tell exactly what her expression was, but it looked happy from his vantage point, cleverly obscured from her line of sight. Altering his stare, Inuyasha's eyes moved to face the general direction in which Kagome had been gazing. Over the shrine wall, he could make it tops of buildings, the Tokyo skyline. Snow was shimmering as it sifted on the quieted city, taking solace for one seemingly enchanted night on the rooftops and peaks beneath it; in the same way, it sieved from the limbs and sky in unison fore Inuyasha's vision as he went to gaze towards Kagome's window once more.

_Snow… _Inuyasha whispered so softly in his thoughts. _Snow begins to fall when two people are in love…._ His eyelids lowered gradually._ Snow means love…_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: So, how was that everyone? My longest chapter for "On a Leash" thus far; I don't think I'll make them all this long, unless you want me to, that is. In any case, today's the first day of my madrigal! My high school went pretty out on props and stuff. I'm really excited; I'm in the serving chorus. (Or a wench. ') Sorry if I didn't answer everyone's question, but I'll try to fit it in the next update. You can continue to ask and suggest torture. Also tell what you really liked in this chapter. It makes me smile.

Inuyasha: Damn, stupid ass thing….

Whatcha got there?

Inuyasha: This block-y thing. Why the hell won't the damn colors just line up!

Uh…I…don't know. sweat drops Really shouldn't give him Rubix cubes…. (I'm still no sure on the spelling of that word; Word 2000 is going ga-ga over it.)

Note something: I'm going to try and finish "The Mysterious Little Visitor" before I finish "On a Leash" because I'm so close to the end. If I'm lucky, you only have to go two weeks to a month without an update, ok? Please check that one out; it was my very first fan fiction I started a year ago on Hero in the 21st Century.

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow


	8. Rose Hips or White Tea and Ginger?

A/N: And to think people say that persistence doesn't get you far in life… Keh! Well, I was working on MLV, listening to Linkin Park's CD "Meteora" and thinking that—well—the ending isn't as near as I had anticipated. So, I'm going to work on it along with OaL. Everyone is less than patient with me (thankfully nothing painful, and I don't have a fire-proof cloak yet, so I think so far so good) so, I decided to work a little bit on this. I've decided to use (------------) to also signify time passage. The indentations don't always work on certain sites, so this is much better. 

**IMPORTANT! ALL READ!** I now have a notify list so you can find out what's going on. It's **hanyoumiko.notifylist.com** If you go there, you can sign up and get my messages about what's going on. (Then you'll all know I don't have internet at the moment, so it's kind of hard when it comes to posting.) Over 200 reviews on one site; and near 80 on another…wow… I'm…flabbergasted. You guys rock!

_Chapter Eight: __Rose Hips or White Tea and Ginger? _

                "Inuyasha!" someone called. The hanyou lazily raised his head a tad, giving a slight yawn as another call of "Inuyasha!" came.

                That was Kagome's voice.

                Ears flicking to and fro, whipping snowflakes off the tips, Inuyasha could hear the girl's approaching footsteps as they crunched the soft hoarfrost. His gold eyes widened when he glimpsed down to his outstretched paws. _"Uh-oh."_ He was still clad in the clothing from yesterday, more than a little peculiar for a canine to be wearing, even if he wasn't a run-of-the-mill mutt.

                Wriggle this way; wriggle that way—he had the jeans and fish boxers off along with the red running shoes.

                Place one paw here and another there—back tracking, the red sweater came off----

                "Inuyasha!" Kagome hollered, the white puffs of breath preceding her body as her shadow came into view on the snow.

                _"Shit! Gotta hide these!" _Snatching all the articles in his chops, counting the running shoes, the hanyou hot-footed it to a snow bank. He shoved his head in and put the clothes in as deep as he could before reversing and haphazardly covering it up just as his mistress came around the wide trunk of the god-tree. He shook his head free of the flurries that had piled on top like a turban. _"Uh, hey, Kagome," _he said anxiously, trotting up to her with his tail in a wagging frenzy.

                "There you are!" she gushed. Kagome stood there with the jacket she wore to the movies the night before over her blue and yellow star pajamas with a pair of beat up sneakers on her feet. She looked absolutely relieved when she saw Inuyasha staring up at her.

                When she'd gotten home that night and gone to her room, Kagome had been surprised that the window had been left open. She didn't remember opening it, so she figured one of Gramps incense-charms had gone wrong again, and had needed to air her room out again. It wouldn't be the first it happened anyway.

                But when she couldn't find Inuyasha that night, she guessed he would show up before bed or when she nodded off; that mutt did have a tendency to wander off about the house, nowhere to be found, and be there in bed by morning.

She doubted a person, let alone a dog, could jump out from her second story window and make it out unscathed.

She had supposed Souta, that little brat, had left the rear door open and hadn't told her Inuyasha got out.

                However, when he didn't show up, hogging the coverlets of her bed, she had gotten pretty worried about him. Kagome was awful fond of her pet, hence why she decided to check outside.

She was glad she had.

When the dog got close enough, the girl wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "You're all wet, boy." She brushed some of the snow from his noggin, paying special attention to his icy ears. "Let's get you inside. I'll dry you off and—I'll bet you're hungry, huh?—so I'll feed you, too," she babbled happily along as she lead him inside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                _"I never thought I'd appreciate a bath this much…"_ Inuyasha sighed as Kagome dumped more water on his back. He allowed his tongue to loll out of his mouth as she moved his fur forward so she could get his skin. She must have been soaking his stiff body for at least half an hour, but Inuyasha didn't really care. After sleeping in the same position for hours on end, and to be snowed on no less, warm water really did seem like a godsend.

                Smiling, Kagome rocked her rump onto her heels. "Now that you aren't so cold, Inuyasha, I'm going to give you a regular bath. There's nothing worse than a smelly dog."

                He snorted at her, shooting her a glare. _"Scrawny human boys and wimpy wolves smell **much** worse."_

                Reaching under the sink and probing its contents, "You're probably barking something rude, aren't you? That'd be in your nature." Searching for something to lather him up with, she spotted the shampoos hidden behind Souta's wadded up soccer jersey—which she scrunched her nose up at and tossed over her shoulder with a yell. "Hmm…" she mused to herself, extracting two bottles, leaning rearwards to exam the labels, "rose hips or white tea and ginger…?"

                _"Neither! I'm a male! MALE!"_ yapped Inuyasha in protestation. _"Guys don't shop for that stuff, and we don't wear it either!"_

                Too bad Kagome didn't seem to care because she promptly slapped a palm full of pinkish goo on the small of his back.

Ah, rose hips it was.

Good thing she wasn't fully fluent in dog lingo or she'd be scrubbing his mouth out as well.

Foaming his silver-white fur up to a pinkish tint, Kagome worked shampoo across the ridge of his back, his legs, sides, and underbelly—which he wasn't all that keen on—while she told him about her 'date' the night before.

She told him about Hojo blathering during the promos, how she whapped him in the nose ("I didn't do it on purpose! Honest!"), about the guy who had hit on her, and, finally, about _him_.

Taisho.

"It was really weird, boy. I've never met him before, but… I don't know, I can't describe it." Kagome ceased massaging the froth over his scalp to ponder for a moment. "It was like he was there to protect me or something."

Inuyasha's tail waved to and fro proudly, sending gobs of suds on the aqua ceramic tiles. _"I was protecting you from Homo-boy. Gods knows someone would take advantage of someone as mushy as you."_ He sneezed when a soap bubble went up his nose and shook his head indignantly when Kagome, giggling, cleaned it off his snout. _"Hey! That kind of hurt!"_ the hanyou grumbled. _"That ain't funny, wench…."_

"I wonder if I'll ever see him again…" she wondered out loud, ignorant to his complaints.

Inuyasha made a doggy-smirk to himself, hidden beneath all the foam. _"Maybe you will."_

After Inuyasha was thoroughly washed and rinsed, smelling like fresh cut roses, Kagome pulled out an old green towel to dry him off with. She leaned across the edge of the square bath and tossed it on top of her pet. She dried him vigorously until his long fur was fairly fluffy.

Inuyasha climbed out of the tub while she backed up. In the same instant, he shook himself, sending the remaining water droplets from his moist fur, effectively getting her pajamas damp. Even though she glowered and scolded him, the sound of her caught-off-guard screech when he sprayed her made it all the more worthwhile.

Teach her to giggle at him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                _Geez, Inuyasha is such a handful,_ Kagome thought, climbing into the shower, as the tub would need to cleaned out a bit first, which she'd get to later. At least she didn't have school today due to all the snowfall on the streets.

Wearing wet clothes on a cold day wasn't the most comfortable thing; thanks to Inuyasha, she was shivering and slightly stiff. A rain of hot water greeted her chilly skin, and it was more than a little welcome. She closed her cobalt eyes as she ducked her head under the nozzle, allowing her ebony tresses to slick down her back.

                Squirting some moisturizing shower gel into her palm, Kagome's mind wandered once more to Taisho, as it had been doing all morning. No matter how many times she mused over it, the girl couldn't think of any place she met him before, yet they'd hit it off so well…though, he wasn't what she'd define as "charming" by any means, but he was ruggedly sweet.

                A little violent, but still, sort of sweet.

                Kagome hadn't told her mother about her failed outing with Hojo or about Taisho walking her home; Mrs. Higurashi had gone out to the market, according to the note she had left for Gramps on the fridge. Even so, she wasn't sure what she'd tell her mother.

                _Taisho said he lives in Tokyo,_ she cogitated, washing the soap suds away, _but I never thought to ask which district. He said he doesn't live too far off, but what does he define as near?_ Kagome exhaled softly, picking up her lavender shampoo. _I wonder if I'll see Taisho again?_

Strange how that very phrase had returned to her mind for the hundredth time.

Inuyasha's rear had looked like it was going to take flight from how swiftly he was wagging his tail when she'd voiced it during the mongrel's bath. And the way his chops pulled up a bit, even amidst his rosy, bubbly mess, he seemed to say: I know something you don't know.

Pathetic, she realized.

But, he seemed to hang on her every word as she told him all about Taisho. He even made eye contact. Funny thing for a dog to do; however, Kagome had realized a long time ago that her Inuyasha wasn't any ordinary member of the canine family.

Even her dog's ambry pools, spare the color, were unusually reminiscent in her mind, from somewhere else.

The pupil shape was strange, more feline-like.

Just like Taisho's.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here you are, sir," the chauffer said, opening the door of the shiny black limousine. Stepping back, he allowed a tall man to elegantly climb out. Hastily bumbling after him to get off the leather seats was a short toad-demon.

"Are you sure this is the place, m'lord?" the green toad-demon squeaked to the tall demon-man as the chauffer shut the door.

The man kept his pale gold gaze at the top of the steps, staring intently at the peak of the visitor's shrine with a mask of detachment painted over his finely crafted features. The blustery wind rippled his cesium hair quietly, his tail doing likewise.

Turning his head only as much as necessary, he replied coolly to the fidgety toad, "Yes, Jaken. Do you question my intelligence?" His eyes narrowed very little, but it was enough to send Jaken into spasms.

"N-no, Master Sesshoumaru," he squawked. Jaken cringed a bit, gripping on to the staff bearing two heads upon it tightly with both hands.

Sesshoumaru looked to the chauffer, who was waiting near the driver's side. "Idle here until I return."

"Right, sir."

Striding forward, Sesshoumaru, with Jaken at his heels, began to ascend the Sunset Shrine's steps. _Now to pay you a visit, little brother…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Souta wrinkled his nose up at the macaroni and cheese in his bowl. "I don't think its edible, Sis," he whispered to the girl seated next to him.

                Eyeing hers also, Kagome nodded. Whispering back, "Maybe we shouldn't have let Grampa cook." She prodded at the noodles, wondering if the little black flecks on it were pepper or it was just burnt. Maybe the old man had put some strange powder he'd bought from one of the magazines that sold shrine supplies and wanted to try it out… She pushed it away. Better not test her luck.

                Guess she'd wait until Mama got home from paying the bills.

                Well, maybe a second opinion first…

                Kagome glanced down at Inuyasha, whose side she was rubbing with her bare toes. "Would you eat it?" she asked, showing him a few of the elbow macaroni on her fork.

                _"Not unless you paid me. **A** **lot**. A **hell** of a lot."_

                She sighed softly, letting the utensil drop into the mess of pasta. "It's official. Even the _dog_ won't eat it."

                Gramps continued to bustle about the kitchen, placing spirit wards on the walls whilst checking what he called "the Wonder drink". Lifting the ladle to his lips, he took a taste. Gaining a slightly bemused look, he called, "Kagome, come in here and see if I need some more herbs in here."

                "Uh…" she stalled, trying to think of an excuse to not eat the experiment of ancient extracts and cranberry  juice, when a loud, authoritative knock sounded from the front room. "I have to get the door!" Jumping to her feet, she sprinted out of the kitchen, Inuyasha in tow.

                "Uh—I-I have to go with Sis," Souta said, also excusing himself from the kitchen table. He overturned his chair in the process. "Sorry!" he hollered, speeding around the corner also.

                Gramps stared after the pair. "Kids these days…" he said, shaking his head.

                Kagome had made it to the front hall, coming to a sliding stop, with her dog sniffing at the space where the door met the jamb. She put a hand to the knob, yet the canine place his paws firmly on her thighs, as if trying to shove her away. "Inuyasha, move." She pushed him aside with her foot. "Souta, hold on to Inuyasha."

                "'k." The boy grabbed hold of the dog's black leather collar with both hands since he was straining a great deal. "Come on, Inuyasha, stop moving so much."

                He ignored the kid. _"Don't open the door, Kagome!"_ The hanyou whined, bouncing up and down. _"Don't open—"_

                Kagome pulled the door forward, only to look up at a pair of cheerless, pastel gold eyes.

_"—the door…"_ Inuyasha trailed off, body going limp for a short instant. _Twit…_

"Uh, can I help you?" Kagome managed a polite smile, unnerved by the looming figure that stood before her.

                "Yes," he replied smoothly. With a hand, he gently maneuvered her away from the entryway, as she was in such a befuddled stupor.

                Regaining her bearings, she objected, "Hey! This is my house, you can't just—"

                "Quiet, girl!" snapped something from the area around her kneecap. Peering in that direction, she spotted a small toad-demon glaring at her. "Lord Sesshoumaru can do as he pleases."

                "I don't care _who_ he is," Kagome shot back. "He can't just walk into my house uninvited, and it's rude not to take off one's shoes." The little toad-man stuck his sharp beak-like nose in the air, only to have his face meet with Kagome's foot. "And you aren't any better!"

                He straightened himself up from his initial fall, now waving his creepy staff at her. "You dirty, little human--!"

                "Jaken," Sesshoumaru said, having entered into the front room, "the girl is right. That was very uncouth of me." He bowed slightly at the waist. "I am Tanaka Sesshoumaru, and that is my servant Jaken." He righted himself.

                "Your servant?" she echoed back in surprise.

                "That's right!" Jaken huffed, shoving passed her barefoot with his rod. "Sesshoumaru is a great and influential demon!"

                "I came to speak to the head priest of this shrine," he stated simply, glancing at Kagome in a no-nonsense manner. "As there was no one outside, I figured he would be at home. Am I correct?"

                "Uh, yes," she said, shutting the door, her gaze flicking from the solid wood to the demon situated in the center of the family room. Kagome jiggled her foot, making a disgusted face. _I just kicked that ugly thing with my foot…that's so gross…._ She wiped her soiled toes on the welcome mat._ I knew I should have grabbed one of Grampa's slippers first._ "I'll go get him…" Kagome ducked out of the room. "Souta," her voice instructed from the other hall, "put Inuyasha in my room."

                "Inuyasha…" whispered Sesshoumaru, observing the snarling canine who was battling wildly against the boy restraining him. Saliva dripped from the dog's teeth as he snapped and lunged and growled; Sesshoumaru half-smirked. "It's been a long time…."         __

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                For the past hour or so, Gramps had been chattering with Tanaka Sesshoumaru, who appeared as disinterested as ever, if not more so, as the old man prattled on and on about wards and charms.

                Well, Kagome reckoned it was his own fault for coming to her crazy grandfather with questions.

Besides, karma was just getting him back for being rude when he entered their house.

From the moment she had seen him standing in the entryway, she had felt a chill run down her spine, and not just because of his youki either. There was just something really weird with him in her mind, and Kagome was not so inclined to know what made that stoic weirdo tick.

She knew very well that Inuyasha hadn't been all that fond of the idea of Sesshoumaru sitting down on the sofa and making himself comfortable; the dog had made every possible attempt break loose and jump the man. It had taken her, Souta, and Mama when she walked thru the door to get him upstairs.

Right now, Inuyasha was brooding, in a doggy sort of way, on the floor beside her bed. His head lay atop his paws; his eyebrows were scrunched in what could only be defined as supreme bother.

Not to mention he huffed and snorted a lot.

_"What the hell is that bastard up to?"_ he grumbled to himself. He pawed at his snout, making short growls at nothing in particular. _"How did he find me…? He never came looking for me before…not even on that day…."_ Inuyasha closed his eyes, hearing the audio of memories—varying from deafening, unable to hear one's heart to quiet murmurs, so many blurring in confusion-- playing in his head.

_"Sorry, son, but your parents are dead," the human officer said grimly._

_"But—they can't be!" protested as six-year-old Inuyasha. "My father didn't have anything to do with the war! They were good people! Good people don't get hurt!"_

_"Sometimes…" the man sighed, kneeling down fore the distraught child, placing a hand on his shoulder, "sometimes even good people die."_

_"NO!" he screamed, ripping away from the police officer. "You're lying! You're all lying!" He turned on his heels and fled over the streets of the outskirts of Tokyo, tears rolling down his cheeks. _

_"Poor kid," he heard the officer say with a quiet moan, "he's like so many others. Can't believe his folks passed away during the  bombing raid in Tokyo…."_

Inuyasha shook his head vigorously. He hadn't wanted to see that. Never again did he want to see the pitying look on that man's face, a face that was long dead and buried.

Just like his parents.

Those memories were way too clear, too strong…

                He rose to all fours, intent on pacing the perimeter of Kagome's bedroom, as he had done many a-time before, when he saw something. The door was ajar. Not giving a second thought, Inuyasha hustled over the portal. He glanced once back at his mistress, relieved that she was happily asleep. Pawing a bit, he worked it open.

                Inuyasha sidled out into the hallway. Scampering his way to the top of the stairs, he flopped to his belly, observing who was in the front room. He could hear Mama cleaning in the kitchen, and Gramps was heading in that direction, leaving Sesshoumaru—he didn't give a damn where Jaken had wandered off to-- in the living room alone.

                The hanyou padded quickly down the stairs, a blur of white, as he barreled by the coffee table, stopping four feet away from the silver-haired demon seated on the blue sofa. _"What the fuck are you up to…?"_ he growled softly, not wanting the old man and Mrs. Higurashi to discover he'd left Kagome's room.

                Sesshoumaru peered at him for a moment. Quietly, he murmured, lips scarcely moving, "Lovely scent." He half-smirked sedately. "I didn't realize you liked floral scents."

That stupid girl…. He was going to kill Kagome later…

"You're still as impudent and foul-mouthed as ever. I require something that you possess."

                Inuyasha blinked, balking a bit in shock. _"You understand me?"_

                "Don't ask such ignorant questions," retorted Sesshoumaru, sitting away from the back of the couch a tad. "Father entrusted his inheritance to the both of us. The deed to the western lands will expire in eight months, around mid July, leaving it up for bids."

_"So, what's the big deal?"_ Inuyasha asked, sitting on his rump, staring intently at his older brother. _"You're not going to go hungry or anything, so why should you care?"_

"Don't be a fool." Pale eyes snapping in irritation, Sesshoumaru spoke again in a lethally low tone, "The western part of Japan has been in our family for generations. I have managed the land, and I collect money from people living there, which helps my wealth to perpetuate."

_"Like I said: not going hungry."_

"However," Sesshoumaru opted to ignore the interruption, "there is another demon who wishes to purchase the land. He is by no means worthy to own it, and his intentions are not at all what our Father what have wished…" he drifted off, focusing his attention elsewhere for a minute.

_"And?" _impatiently barked the hanyou, tipping his head to the side with annoyance.

"The priest is returning. Take this." He reached into the breast pocket of his navy red-pinstriped suit and retrieved a white business card. Grasping hold of Inuyasha's collar, he shoved it underneath the leather band. "Come see me within a month at that address."

Inuyasha would have inquired more, but the sound of Mrs. Higurashi coming jolted him out of the room and up the stairs, more bemused than ever.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                The night had come, and the lights from Tokyo central made the dark velvety sky not as opaque looking as it would had the Higurashi shrine been in the country. The wind outside moaned in its frigid state through the grove as it had been all night. Honking car horns and the sounds of the nighttime crowd were more muted to the shrine than other buildings closer to the streets were, save Inuyasha could pick it up.

                In the den, the clock chimed once. One in the morning.

Inuyasha had been sitting on the outer porch of the shrine, gazing through the wooden dowels that barred the top part that created a window. Thanks to Buyo, he could slide the doors away and prowl around like a white ghost if he wanted to. (Also thanks to that fur ball, he'd gotten the business card out and they'd hidden it underneath Kagome's dresser.) If it hadn't been for the fact that he'd forgotten he was turning human the night before, and he was without clothes, Inuyasha would have snuck out earlier.

Well, maybe not. He'd followed Kagome downstairs that night in hopes of--if he couldn't stop her from going--he could at least bite Hojo, i.e. castrate him…

Alright, maybe when he was coming close to turning human his emotions had a tendency to want to overdue things a _bit_.

Not like he got to anyway…

Too many things had been happening recently. The escape from Kikyou's house, Kagome adopting him, turning human, Sesshoumaru showing up out of the blue…

Way too many weird things.

_I still don't get it, _thought Inuyasha. _Why now? Why can't Sesshoumaru deal with all that legal mumbo-jumbo on his own? I don't get what I have to do with this stupid deed. _Rising from his seated position, the hanyou got up and trotted to the sliding door. He worked it open with his nose and tramped outside, swirls of snow dancing in the air.

Heading for the Goshinboku, Inuyasha's musing continued on. Mainly, he wanted to know what was so terrible about allowing someone else to own their sire's land. Sure, it would be out of the family, and Inuyasha had to agree he didn't like the idea of an outsider running something the Tanaka family had for so many centuries.

Inuyasha had a sinking feeling that he was climbing a proverbial hill of something perilous, one that he'd been climbing for fifty years now.

Going passed the mini-shrine, he was so caught up cogitating that he almost missed seeing the sliding doors weren't shut all the way. Seizing his opportunity, Inuyasha ran to it, intent on seeing what he was protecting.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Finished this chapter in 2 days! That's a record for me! I dedicate this chapter to my mom, because she read it over for me and I really appreciate that she does this every time I write a new part of a story. Thanks!

Over Spring Break, updating might be a little difficult, but right now I'm posting from the local library. I also have to write a speech during my break period, so it also might be hard on writing. I was really nervous writing this chapter; I was kind of freaked that maybe it didn't come out so well.

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. I wonder if the e-mail link worked…


	9. The Shrine Sentinel

_Disclaimer: _I love Inuyasha! Alas, he still is not mine… sigh

A/N: Ok, been a while, I know. Finally got to it. Please, actually _read_ these things….please? For my sanity, I beg of you! Gah, under lots of stress, but luckily started my live journal, so, it's all good. My Advanced Speech and Comp teacher is…odd…. We don't get along. ; Oh, and the part about Kagome being "Glad she had" was talking about her _checking outside_, not about her feelings. Believe me, I know her feelings are natural because I've had a dog or two disappear only to coincidentally check out in the backyard and have him sitting there. What happened was I forgot to hit the 'Enter' key, so…fixed that. ; Amazing how not indenting can affect the whole meaning of something.

_Chapter Nine: __The Shrine Sentinel_

                The wind was biting cold as Inuyasha pawed the door all the way open and darted inside, eagerness welling up inside him. Snow had begun to collect in a minute drift in the gap, which the dog kicked away a bit. A faint moon glow cast a silvery light, making him look ethereal amongst the dark splashes of the room.

                It took a moment or so for his honey orbs to adjust to the softer light. Inuyasha padded in further, glimpsing around for some sign of something out of the ordinary…

                Well, Higurashi-Shrine-ordinary.

                Charms and wards hung from the ceiling. Bottles of various colored liquids sat on shelves far up, and boxes of souvenirs lined one wall. As well as Inuyasha could tell, there was nothing contained in the mini-shrine that every other Shinto temple he'd been in didn't have.

                He sniffed the ground quietly, sneezing as the occasional dust bunny decided to explore the cavern of his nose. It wasn't until he came upon a white rice paper screen, ajar slightly, that he became aware of another sound that was not being made by him. It sounded like a low hum, almost like a bee or something.

                _What the hell?_ thought Inuyasha. Blacker blotches scurried in over the screen, growing larger and smaller as they varied their proximity. _There's no way a normal bee could be alive in these conditions…_ He felt an icy feeling sweep down his spine, a familiar tingle. _That's youki…and those shapes are a little too big for bumblebees so they have to be demonic. _

                A bright flash of bluish-white light crackled loudly from the other side of the screen and a small tongue of cerulean flame blazed shortly on the ground. A barrier. The buzzing grew annoyed, and soon Inuyasha realized that there were more than one or two bees present; there were at least a dozen.

                _Whatever's on the other side is being rejected so that's gotta be the 'item' Kagome wants me to protect. Why else would there be a ward? _His eyes narrowed slightly. _"And I'll bet those bees aren't supposed to be in there!"_ Smacking the screen halves all the way apart, Inuyasha sprang into the room. _"Better start doing my duty!"_

                The droning was most intense here, and the swarm turned red eyed gazes down on him, the veins of their translucent wings stood out in web-like fingers. They were as large as Buyo was, in length at least. Long stingers protruded from the backside of the yellow and black banded bodies. The demon bees hovered around a long black box; one lay dead on the wooden floor.

                Without warning, the swarm suddenly dove at the lone dog. Inuyasha dodged and then jumped up and knocked a few from the air, squashing them. He let out a deafening bark. _"I don't know what the hell you're doing in here,"_ he growled,_ "but if you wanna fight, fine."_

He leapt up and snapped at a couple more while the remaining group dive-bombed him. He managed to evade them as he landed, but his body was still nowhere near as agile as it had been when he was half-demon. Several of his assailants had landed glancing blows on his exposed side when he twisted in the air, and one had even stabbed Inuyasha with its stinger.

Landing heavily, Inuyasha felt the dull throb of diagonal wounds that ended at his left flank. He sprang upon another set of five, leaving two left.

An abrupt bout of dizziness clouded his senses, yet the dog managed one last bound by adrenaline alone, and knocked out the remaining bees by flattening one with his paws and the other was ripped apart by his fangs. He returned to the ground on unsteady legs. Inuyasha's entire body ached; it felt like he was being torn apart sinew fiber, by sinew fiber.

He lurched forward at a tottering pace to the long box. A sutra was placed over the lid of the box, effectively shielding it yet the dog-demon didn't notice as his vision continued to distort. _"What the hell is in there…?"_ Nosing it slightly, Inuyasha was unexpectedly thrown by a force of pinkish-white.

He met with the rice paper screen and it came down around him with a loud crash. The chiming of shattered glass rained upon him as shards flew about the enclosure.

Staring blankly for a moment, he thought, _Guess I don't get to see…_

Then everything went blurry…then darkness…then he completely blacked out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Kagome had awoken with a yawn when she heard Inuyasha's raucous barking. _What a loud mouth…_ she cogitated with a slight grumble. Stretching for a moment, she glanced at her clock and decided to go back to sleep; it was the ungodly hour of one-twenty in the morning after all.

                Yet as she settled into her covers again, Kagome shot up for a second time at the thunderous racket outside. Sliding out, fully intent upon yelling at Inuyasha for being so darn noisy, the girl started at the sight of the mini-shrine doors open. Her eyes widened. _Oh no!_

                Running out of her room, Kagome went to her mother's and threw open the door yelling, "Mama! Someone's in the mini-shrine!"

                Mama had woken as soon as her daughter had burst in. In a moment, the woman was beside the girl, her white nightgown swishing quickly. "Hurry, Kagome, we need to get down there."

                Nodding, the onyx-haired girl trotted ahead of her mother, heart pounding madly in her chest. She worked her way outside, running barefoot into the heavy snow, which grew ever thicker. Ignoring the stinging in her toes and arches, she slipped her way to the demi-shrine.

Kagome tramped up the steps and onto the wood floor. She gasped when she saw Inuyasha lying on his side, and, even with the dim illumination, the unmistakable streaks of crimson blood.

                Kagome staggered back for a second as Mama entered. "Kagome, what's—?" The older woman also cut herself off with a sharp inhale. She raised a hand to her lips. "How badly is he hurt?"

                "I-I don't know…" the girl stammered, rooted to the spot for a time. She was baffled and vaguely frightened as her wide azure eyes took in the scene of busted bottles with their elixirs streaming out and the large white screen that covered a majority of the shrine's floor space.

It wasn't until her mom started toward the injured animal that Kagome rushed ahead of her, sidestepping the collections of broken bottles, and knelt by his side. "Inuyasha…" she whispered, stroking his pale muzzle. She watched his ragged breathing, thanking the gods that he was still alive at least; her dog looked so vulnerable and strained. His stunning gold eyes were sealed away behind his heavy, furry eyebrows. Kagome peered at his injuries, wincing slightly in sympathetic pain. "Please be all right… Just hold on, boy…."

Inuyasha shuddered as the only response to her plea.

"I'll help you bring him inside," Mama said quietly, coming over and sliding her hands carefully underneath his hindquarters, until her palms hit his uninjured flank.

Kagome nodded her assent as she grabbed hold of his upper body and hoisted him with her mother out of the mini-shrine.

Once they toted him into house, they laid Inuyasha on the carpet of the front room. That was when Kagome saw the sallow bubbles popping from the wounds, especially from the deep puncture close to the fleshy part of his left hind leg, just short of the junction. The sordid froth mixed with scarlet nearest the dog's lacerated skin.

"It looks like he's been poisoned," she heard Grampa say as he hobbled into the entryway.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked, worry piercing her gaze.

"I'm afraid so, Kagome." The old man bobbed his head once. "We should make a poultice until we can get him to the veterinary clinic."

Forlorn, the girl looked back to the dog, only comforted by the fact that her grandfather knew quite a bit about medicine regardless that he retained no spiritual power. She heard Gramps shuffle out of the room, presumably heading to storeroom in the rear of the house. Souta had come down the stairs, and was being shooed away by Mom.

"Is Inuyasha ok?!" the little boy asked frantically as he tried to get passed the wall that was Mama Higurashi.

She gave him a gentle push and a firm look. "Go to bed, Souta."

"But--!"

"No 'buts'. We're not sure what happened to him. He was out in the mini-shrine. He must have driven off whatever had tried to get to your sister's dowry."

Souta sighed irritably at his mother as she gave him that glare that insisted he do as he was told.

Kagome paid the squabble little attention as she focused on the tremulous canine on the ground beside her. She stroked his back, whether for her comfort or the comatose Inuyasha, she wasn't sure. _How did something even get in the mini-shrine…?_ the girl wordlessly wondered. A soft whimper rose to her ears and she brought her hand to one of his silky ears and rubbed. _Why did this have to come to us…?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                When Inuyasha roused, the world still seemed foggy to both his ears and to his eyes. The walls were smears of white while the fluorescent lights that purred demurely overhead made the metal in front of his snout reflect brightly. Cool steel beneath him absorbed the heat from his body, which felt slightly hot even to him.

Gradually, his senses sharpened, and he realized he was in the overnight room of a pet hospital. Oak cabinets were on one wall with a small sink and trashcan below them. He sniffed the air tentatively, catching no scent from a roommate, yet picking up the familiar smell of that old hag Kaede; it was about half an hour old.

Inuyasha began to sit up when a lightning bolt of pain crackled through the side that faced the ceiling. He ground out a few select curses as his body thudded down upon the metal examination tray once more. Heavy gauze was wrapped around his torso, restricting his movement and the ease in which the wounds could reopen.

_"Stupid, fucking bees…if I ever…"_ he curtailed his rant when he heard voices in the hall outside. Inuyasha lay still so he could eavesdrop easier.

"…I've never heard of venom that strong before…" Mama was saying.

A sigh, and then Kaede's voice replied, "It is not a common one. I have not seen this strain before, but I will try to find out exactly what poisoned Inuyasha." A pause. "If you had not treated him and gotten him here first thing yesterday, he would have died. At last check, his fever was only minor; not enough to cause serious trouble."

Inuyasha snorted at the very notion of his life being threatened; he had felt a bit helpless when he passed out on the floor.

The sound of Kagome speaking made the dog-hanyou's ears pivot forward slightly. "May I go see him, Ms. Kaede?"

"Let me check on him first." Inuyasha observed as the old woman entered the room, catching the glimpse of the Higurashi family outside. Kaede walked over to him, a half-smile on her face. "Nice to see you're back in the world of the conscious."

_"Thanks for the warm welcome," _he retorted.

 "You're very welcome."

He wasn't surprised this time that she answered him, as it seemed more people were able to understand him than he was aware of---at least generally anyway.

Kaede pulled out the stethoscope and listened to his heart and lungs, nodding slightly. She removed a pen from her pocket and jotted down her findings on the clipboard that sat on the counter.

"Inuyasha," the old woman began, checking his bandages, "you must take very good care of Kagome. She is an extremely special child, and unfathomably gifted, though she doesn't know it yet. Sit up, please."

As she pulled out a pair of surgical scissors Inuyasha peered at her inquiringly, doing as she instructed while she cut the tight bands,. _"What do you mean?"_

He started at Kaede's answer.

"Kagome is a young miko; however, the problem lies with the fact that she cannot harness and utilize her power to the fullest extent. You must protect her, Inuyasha. "

He mulled over this as she redressed his injuries. _"Does that mean she could remove Kikyou's stupid collar?"_

"Possibly," she noncommittally responded. Kaede unwound another ball of gauze and snipped a length off. "Do not rush it, Inuyasha. Your spirit will be freed of that soon enough. Wait."

_"WAIT?! I can't wait any longer! I've been stuck like this for _fiftyyears_, hag!"_

"And a few more weeks or so won't kill you, so stop complaining," she snapped back.

He brooded while she continued her ministrations. He grumbled to himself, focusing on the steady ticking of her wristwatch.

"There. The toxins seem to be wearing off, but that makes your wounds all the more troublesome as they are healing a tad slow." Kaede rolled the gauze up and tucked it and the scissors into the large side pocket of her coat. "Luckily for you, you aren't normal."

_"Neither are you, Kaede."_

The lady vet gave a watered down smirk. "I'll give Mrs. Higurashi your medicine, and you can return home today." She patted him on the head once before going to the door. "And, Inuyasha?" She turned a little. "Do not forget to heed what I have told you."

As the door started to swing closed, it opened inwards again as Kagome came in, clad in her green sailor fuku. "Are you feeling better, Inuyasha?" She leaned over and massaged his ears fondly. "We were all really worried about you. I hope that's all we have to worry about for a while…"

The sinking sensation he'd felt earlier, of nearing something very bad, returned with a sickening vengeance. _Somehow, Kagome, _he thought, _I think is just the beginning…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sorry! I was hoping on having this out on Monday and after my less than stellar chapter of SH, which I will eventually fix even if I had one reviewer who has not been on my Christmas card list…long, boring story; don't worry about it. Anyway, I've got a bunch of projects coming up, my AP US History exam coming up, and…lot's of other stuff. One of you mentioned something about "knowing that I was in college" and I wanted to let you know that I'm a sophomore in high school. Anyway, hope this has quenched everyone's appetite for now. The plot is getting more interesting…heheh….

throws on her fire proof cloak In case of flames of "Evil Cliffy!" or something. By the way **I finished "The Mysterious Little Visitor"** which has made me very happy.

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. My mom's not feeling good, so sorry if there are any mistakes; she betas my stuff.


	10. Life is Confusing

_Chapter Ten: __Life is Confusing_

Kagome straightened up the red fleece blanket. "Ok, Inuyasha, you can lie down now." Her dog limped his way over to the spot in the corner of her bedroom and sunk into the makeshift dog bed.

The girl winced slightly as Inuyasha made a whine. _I'm really glad he's ok. I was hoping that nothing bad would happen to him… _Kagome smiled softly as he stared up at her with those intelligent amber eyes. She gently rubbed his ears while he made a low 'friendly growl' and settled more comfortably into the fleece. _Still,_ she thought, a faint frown tugging on her lips, _how did something get into mini-shrine? _Her mind wandered back to two nights ago.

There had been a dissipating nimbus over the ground, and Kagome had sensed the youki. _Whatever attacked Inuyasha was gone by the time I arrived. _She moved and sat beside her dog on the blanket, contemplating even deeper.

Gramps had talked with the police officers earlier that morning, with Mama at his side as 'translator'. The officers hadn't said much about how the break in happened, only that they would alert the policemen in their district to keep their eyes on the shrine.

Inuyasha's cold nose against her hand roused her from the ambling musings. Kagome noted she had ceased to stroke his head, and continued her ministrations. Satisfied, the canine lowered his heavy eyelids and sidled up against her thigh.

_Poor Inuyasha…he really got battered. Ms. Kaede said he'd heal up just fine in a few days, but those injuries looked so serious… _She eyed the lengths of gauze around his torso with keen, rueful eyes. The wrappings were stark white, blending in with his bleached fur.

Inuyasha's breathing evened out after a bit. He lay spooned against her leg, one paw resting on her knee. Kagome tenderly smiled, kissing him between his closed eyes. _You really aren't a normal dog, are you, Inuyasha?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

School seemed as trite as ever the next day, and Kagome sat through her lessons, only half-bored out of her mind. Trigonometry never did sit well with her…

After the whole ordeal the day before, Kagome felt emotionally drained. Seeing Inuyasha lying in pooling blood had really scared her. So many unanswered questions buzzed in her brain, overtaking the lecture about the unit circle. _My dowry…it's so dangerous. Should we really be keeping something like that at the shrine? I mean, come on! Gramps said that some war buddy of his made him promise to keep it because his wife had a premonition of early death, and that he was supposed to give it to his first born granddaughter…. _

She frowned slightly, ignoring the edge of folded paper Yuka was nudging against her elbow, sharply disrupting her cogitations. "Later," she murmured quietly, still not taking the note.

When the light jabbing stopped, Kagome sighed and rested her cheek in the center of her upturned palm, feigning attention. She really wanted to nod off right there; however, being sent out into the hall did not sound very cool…though it would give her some thinking time.

Between her three whisper-gossiping friends, the squawk of yellow chalk on blackboard, the nasally voice of her math teacher, and with the unease vibrating her mind the girl was about ready to snap.

She was inordinately pleased when the shrill ringing of a bell, signaling the beginning of her lunch break. Leaving her bookcase hanging off the peg on the side of her desk, the girl sauntered after her classmates lethargically. The din of hungry middle school and high school students was background noise to her weary brain as it tried to reason something.

"Hey, Kagome! Wait up!"

The girl turned at the sound of Sango's voice as she ran after her in the bustling corridor; Sango had to jostle people in order to not get swept back from whence she came. Kagome made a half-grin and waited for the older girl to catch up. "What's up, San--?"

"I heard that happened at the shrine a few nights of ago," she cut in. "Are you ok? Was anything stolen?" Worry reflected in her dark brown eyes.

Shaking her head bemusedly, Kagome replied, "Nothing was stolen, but Inuyasha got hurt. How did you hear about it?"

"Well, actually, one of Miroku's friends was passing by the shrine and saw the police coming down the steps, so we both thought something was up." Sango crossed her arms pensively as the pair moved out of the middle of the throng to a seldom-noticed staircase tucked away at the end of the hall. "I would have called, but I figured you were busy with an investigation or something."

Kagome sighed resignedly. "If only…"

They climbed the stairs for a bit. Feeling a tiny bit better when the sound of their footfalls became the dominate sound, Kagome pushed open the metal door. A flood of white sunlight washed into their eyes. The door banged shut behind the girls as they stood atop the roof of the school.

They crossed to their favorite nook and pushed the snow off the wooden crates. Ever since they were really little, Sango and Kagome had come up to the roof to talk, think, and enjoy the city that lay below them. And since Sango was a year ahead of Kagome, lunch hour was one of the few times during the day they had to talk.

And right then, Kagome told Sango all the things that had happened from the moment of hearing Inuyasha barking until that morning when she'd last checked on him.

The older girl listened attentively, nodding quietly from time to time. "So, all that…and no one really knows who or what got into the mini-shrine that night?" she asked when Kagome caught her breath after the tale.

"Yeah." She stared at the snowflakes on the ground. "I don't get it, Sango. We've always kept a careful watch on it, but I guess I don't understand why now all of a sudden."

"I wish I knew why, but I don't know much more than you do." They sat there in hush, allowing the dry wind to burn their cheeks with red-hued cold. For a time, only the sound of the winter breeze and the subdued rustling of their uniforms presented any signs of remote life.

Finally, Sango queried, hoping to change topic, "So…how did your date with Houjou go?"

"Huh? Houjou?" Kagome took a second to regain her memory and laughed softly at the fact she'd forgotten. "Uh, well, it was…ok…."

"Just 'ok'?"

"Well…actually…I met this guy named Taisho," she admitted, blush staining her cheeks a deeper crimson.

Sango raised an eyebrow in interest. "Really? That name sounds really familiar."

"I thought so, too." They both shrugged, and Kagome went on with her story of Taisho, and before she realized it, Kagome had even rambled off about Sesshoumaru stopping by.

Again, Sango didn't have much to add about the dog-demon, but she gave a joshing scolding or two for wandering off with unknown teenage boys. Kagome giggled in response, and teased her about Miroku, earning a playful shove.

By the time they returned inside, the girl was feeling much better if not a little hungry.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Afternoon sunshine warmed the frosted windows all around the house. Humming vaguely in the background was the heater, keeping all the inhabitants nicely toasty.

Mama bustled about the house doing laundry, attending to Inuyasha every three hours or so since Kagome was still at school, and generally keeping Grampa out of trouble, all the while with a smile on her face.

It never ceased to amaze Inuyasha.

Besides Mama coming to nurse him to health, dog boy also had other visitors. Grampa performed a cleansing ritual for the room and slapped another ofuda on the doorjamb (which Kagome would probably peel off later anyway); Inuyasha couldn't help but chuckle at the irony that he, a hanyou—cursed as was--, was being lovingly taken care of by a shrine family, whose patriarch was placing wards to keep _demons_ out of the household. Inuyasha could at least be assured the old geezer had a fondness for him.

Buyo also ducked in. He immediately claimed the half-demon's normal nighttime roost; Inuyasha managed to halfheartedly protest while the feline settled in. They had been conversing for a few hours, which waned whenever one of them nodded off. Even so, Inuyasha had a sort of kinship with the cat, and it gave him some comfort to know that there was one entity in the Higurashi home that understood him fully, one-hundred percent of the time.

_"So you met another person who can understand you?" _Buyo asked, curled up on top of Kagome's bed.

_"Yeah. Old hag could understand me perfectly. Is she one of those 'Gifted'?"_

_ "Is it really necessary to ask or are you really that obtuse?"_

Inuyasha ignored the cat's comment and stared past the chubby calico to the window. Snow danced in orbs of breath outside the ice-covered glass. _"There's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense: my brother, those weird wasps in the mini-shrine, Kagome—everything."_

Buyo shifted position. _"Are you going to see your brother in a month?"_

_ "…I don't really have a reason not to," _he answered slowly. _"I'm going to have to wait and go on the night of the new moon. I wouldn't be able to make it to the Nakushima district without getting hauled off."_

_ "You got this far," _pointed out the feline.

He gave a doglike shrug. _"Either way, it would probably be easier to just go as a human…"_

_"Probably safer, too."_

Inuyasha nodded once to show he'd heard yet didn't give a damn, when he suddenly swore and snapped at the air. _"Aw, shit! I left the clothes in the snow drift!"_

Buyo snorted. _"I'll get you some more clothing before then, but once you're up to snuff, you're going to have to get the sweater and jeans out of the snow."_

_ "Fair enough."_

The quiet pattering of small feet on the carpeted stairs caused the dog's ears to perk up in interest at the familiar rhythm that continued to come closer. "Inuyasha," Kagome's voice came from the hallway. Soon the girl appeared in the doorway, garbed in her uniform. "Time to change your bandages, boy."

Inuyasha stared up at Kagome's smiling face and his tail gave a lax wag. Kagome carried the dark blue medical bag—the one just for him. She got to her knees, pulling out the gauze and some antibacterial spray while humming a little tune.

He remained motionless as she carefully clipped the bands and began spraying the antiseptic over the scratches on his side. Pink stripes of skin were visible from beneath his pale coat. A round scabby blotch marked the place where the demonic bee had pierced him with its stinger.

The mist gave his healing wounds a petite smart, yet it was not enough to make him yelp—only wince in discomfort. Overall, though, Inuyasha was feeling perfectly well, if not for a minor ache here or there.

His mistress helped him stand while she discarded the dirty wrapping and replaced them with fresh ones.

When she finished the task, she smiled as he settled himself back down.

_"Oi. Buyo."_

_ "Hmm?"_ the cat's yawning reply came, having curled up.

Inuyasha whispered, _"Can Kagome understand anything I tell her?"_

_ "Well…a bit. She's not fluent like the vet, but she might be able to get the gist of it, at most."_

Rolling from his unscathed side onto his tummy, Inuyasha said to the girl, _"Kagome, you gotta take this collar off."_ He watched as she suddenly looked to him as she zipped the top of the bag closed. _"Do you get it? Take-—the---collar-—off."_ At the puzzled expression on her face, he wriggled his head from side to side, chewing at the scaly leather band.

Kagome reached forward. "It looks like that collar's bothering you. How about I take it off…?"

Inuyasha's mind began to pulse as his thoughts zoomed in every direction and the world seemed to go in slow motion. The girl's long, soft fingers grasped hold of the choker, glided up to the silver clasp—

"Sis!" Souta bellowed as he stomped up the hall. "Some wolf guy's here to see you."

Fingers paused, the loop of leather pushed of a tad.

"Oh, ok, Souta. Tell Kouga I'll be right down." She rubbed the dog between his ears. "Sorry, boy. Kouga and I have a project to work on." Giving him a kiss on the forehead, Kagome rose to her feet and toddled out of the room.

Inuyasha was a blank.

Buyo tipped his head for a moment, thick tail twitching from side to side.

Eventually, Inuyasha managed to recover from the disappointment of the blasted collar of Kikyou's still ringed around his neck, still in control.

He let out an angry howl.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Kagome," Kouga said, sprawled comfortably on the sofa.

She grinned. "Hi, Kouga. It's nice to see you."

The wolf-demon rose with a swagger. "Oh, but the pleasure is all mine." He gave a confident half-smile as he re-shouldered his backpack.

Giggling, Kagome led him to the kitchen as a strident yowl shook the house.

"What was that?" he asked, peering suspiciously at the ceiling.

"It's Inuyasha." The girl's cobalt eyes narrowed in wonder. "I hope he didn't hurt himself…."

Kouga made a snort, folding his arms over his chest. "Dogs aren't very strong or reliable creatures, Kagome. Wolves are everything that dogs lack."

Inuyasha limped into the kitchen, long nails clicking at an offbeat on the tile. The canine paused to glare rather resentfully at the wolf-demon. It seemed that he forced himself to make his stride even and natural as he padded to the water dish.

Kagome stared after the white-haired husky, marveling at the pride that swelled about him even now—as if he had something to prove to Kouga. "Hey, boy, what're you doing down here?" she inquired as he lapped up some water.

_"Chaperoning."_

The girl smiled and sat at the table. "It's sweet of you to come down, boy. But, you should rest."

Inuyasha peered up at her for second, walked over, and promptly flopped by her feet. His ocher eyes intently scrutinized Kouga's every move and did not leave even when he sat across from Kagome.

Kouga, however, glared back at the molten orbs that hovered just above the tabletop with piercing blue eyes.

Kagome only helplessly gazed from her pet to her partner, not understanding why Kouga was locking stares with her _dog._

Growling quietly, Inuyasha stretched out, fully intent on not leaving until Kouga did.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For about two hours, Kagome and Kouga had been working on their poster for "Hamlet". The time flew by quickly as the boy carefully glued the pictures he'd printed off while Kagome wrote the captions in what Kouga called, "Such graceful script that even the most refined lady would try to imitate, but would not be able to do it justice." The girl merely laughed softly at his over-the-top flattery.

"I think the glue is almost gone," he commented, shaking the bottle in a vain attempt to coax more to the nozzle.

Kagome pushed back her chair. "I think Souta has some more. I'll be right back. If you're thirsty, there's some cola in the fridge."

"Ok." Kouga's eyes didn't leave her as she sprinted away. A lazy grin, although no less confident, crossed his face as he took her up on the offer of drink. "Hmm…" he murmured, fishing through the refrigerator. Retrieving a can, he popped the top. "Only a little more and Kagome will be all mine. Heh." He took a slow sip.

Inuyasha, who had yet to budge for the duration of two hours, slunk over to the wolf-demon. _"Over my dead body, shit for brains…"_ he snarled in an undertone. He skulked over, unnoticed by Kouga who was reveling in the sheer genius and beauty in which he'd win Kagome's heart.

Too bad Kouga didn't notice Inuyasha lifting his leg…

Beaming cheerfully, Kagome reentered, a long glue stick in hand. "Hey, Kouga, I got—"

"YOU STUPID DOG!"

Her eyes trailed to where her classmate stood. The glue stick dropped from her grasp.

Cola in his hand, a ticked off expression, a dark trail on his pant leg, and the unmistakable yellow liquid surrounding his shoe told Kagome all she needed to know what happened—and the fact her fuzzy-eared culprit was just now lowering his hind leg set her suspicions in stone.

"INUYASHA!" she admonished, swiftly tramping to him and seizing his collar tightly. "Bad dog!" She peered hastily up at Kouga. "I am so sorry. I-I don't know what's wrong with him."

The sound of the wolf-demon's teeth grinding in annoyance reached even her ears.

He forcedly chuckled, "At least we're finished." Judging from the way he was glowering at Inuyasha, the girl was certain he wanted to throttle the dog—at the very least. "I'll leave the poster with you." He retrieved his bag from the table, making for the rear exit. "I'll go out the back door."

"Kouga…" she began softly. "I really am sorry. I wasn't expecting Inuyasha to do that."

The boy doubled back and drew her up and into his chest. "Kagome," he pushed her in front of him, cradling her hands in his, "I could never be mad at you for something your brain-dead mutt did." He locked a fervent gaze straight into her eyes and tilted his head…

Chomp!

Insert painful yell here.

"Uh…you really better go," Kagome sighed, prying Inuyasha's vice-like grip from Kouga's leg. She heaved another sigh as the wolf-demon left. _Inuyasha…what heck are you doing?!_ She blinked her eyes once as something occurred to her.

Staring at the watery yellow footprints, "I better get the mop."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"You _peed_ on him," _Buyo repeated, incredulous. _"And here I thought you were only moderately stupid. Proved me wrong."_

_ "Like you don't wish you could've whizzed on him, too." _Inuyasha smirked contentedly as the cat curled his tail around his body. _"That stupid wolf deserved it. Thinking he can win Kagome over…"_

_"Oh, yes, you're such a viscous puppy."_

Inuyasha playfully snapped once before his expression went darkly pensive. _"If he hadn't shown up, I wouldn't still be a damn dog."_

The feline stretched a tad, kneading the pink bedding underneath him. _"For a boy dog, you bitch a lot."_

_"Shut the fuck up."_

He snorted as Buyo made a catlike chuckle. _"I haven't seen Kagome in a while."_

_ "She went out to the mini-shrine."_

_ "What for?"_

Buyo shrugged. _"Probably to check the wards. I don't know."_

Inuyasha wobbled to all fours. _"I'm going to see."_

Trotting charily to the first floor, the dog zipped by Gramps in his bedroom and to the dark hallway just a sprint away. He pawed open the sliding door and rushed out into the cold, ignoring the protesting twinge in his leg. Scrambling up the icy steps, he ducked behind a box of fertility charms.

The rice paper screens were spread all the way apart; from here, Inuyasha had a clear view of Kagome on her knees in front of the long black box.

Her waves of onyx hair fluttered in the slight wind, reflecting the early evening moon's light. She wore her white school sweater over her ducky pajamas and a pair of slip-on shoes. The girl said nothing; the sound of silence was a bit uncomfortable for Inuyasha.

As an especially vigorous gust whooshed through the mini-shrine, Kagome removed the paper-spell and the dog-hanyou sensed the presence of intense miko energy. She unfastened the lid and allowed it to rock rearwards, creaking with its obvious age.

Inuyasha wasn't sure what he saw, but he did know he saw a dull silver flash of light—like a reflection off an old mirror.

Creeping stealthily up to the rice paper screen, he hunkered down as his mistress removed something from the dark velvet—something long.

A muffled 'chink' echoed in the soundless chamber—only the ghostly, moaning song of winter wind remained the constant dead noise. Something fluttered from Kagome's grasp.

She sighed deeply, as if she were deeply troubled. Her voice came out myriad of emotions, but the most prominent was resentment and worry: "I don't understand this…. How come you had to come here? My family could be in danger because of what your owner made my crazy grandfather go along with.

"I don't get it. Why me? Why now? Nothing is making sense—now more than ever! I don't know why but…" her small form shook, "I have a nagging feeling…

"Oh, and another thing: where the heck is my 'fiancé' anyway?" Inuyasha's ears perked up higher, but she said no more.

Finally, Kagome sighed again, before letting out a tired, "I wish I knew what he was like…. Too bad you can't tell me, huh, Tetsusaiga?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Woot! (Yes, Nicole, I did steal your word. Nyah, nyah!) Anyway, I'm sorry, but I still have yet to take my AP US History exam in addition finals are in about a month, I've become a little forgetful—sigh--, and another ordeal. Not my week. I have a research paper to write for my evil speech teacher so…yeah… Please, R&R and I hope you liked it. Big hugs to all of you who prayed and wished that my mom would feel better, and she is back to normal, so a big thanks from both of us.

I dedicate this chapter to all of the kids who put on "Oklahoma!" last weekend. You all did a wonderful job, especially Matt, who lights up my days with his big grin.

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow

e-mail: 


	11. Acid and Ginger

_Disclaimer: _No own. No sue.

A/N: Well, I was…staggered again by how well this story is doing. I have lots of ideas at the moment, but will have to patiently wait…though patience is a virtue, it isn't always one of mine. As some of you may have noticed, I'm using the same surnames that I used in "Codename: HANYOU" and "Shikon High" and that's because I don't have to switch what the characters' family names are. Questions will be answered as the story progresses, so no worries. Hakuna Matata. I'm eager, so are you, so let's go!

_Chapter Eleven: __Acid and Ginger_

About a month passed, and Inuyasha fully healed long before then. The Higurashi house was becoming more and more homey to him everyday, and his fondness for the family grew. Mama remembered to give him something extra on his dog food that made it at least palatable. Souta fed him scraps and liked to kick the soccer ball towards him, which Inuyasha would pounce on and knock back. Gramps even gave him pleasant grins before disappearing, muttering about one thing or another.

Then there was Kagome.

Without fail, the girl would make sure he was cared for. She had little chats with him, even though he knew she didn't understand all of what he said--which could be a two-edged sword. Her cheerful attitude was damn near infectious, and Inuyasha had to admit that she was an ease to him.

At that moment, Inuyasha was sprawled on the floor of the living room in front of the sofa. Mama bobbed her foot a bit above his head at some internal rhythm, coffee cup in hand and the afternoon news flashing on the television in front of them.

"Today the temperature will reach a low of three degrees Celsius," the chipper weatherman said, gesticulating at the screen behind him. "The wind chill will make it feel well below that, and there's chance of a hail storm this evening. Be sure to be bundled up tightly and be prepared for anything. Back to you, Kohana."

The anchorwoman smiled demurely from the meteorologist to the camera as it panned to her, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Sakamoto. Politicians from all over Japan came together early this morning to raise money for the families affected by the destruction of power lines on Okinawa, due to the blizzard that hit late last Friday night."

A clip of numerous political figures speaking overtook the screen, interspersed with footage of the fallen poles and lines half buried in the snow, while Kohana made commentary: "All of the speakers today advocated that everyone must pitch in and help. Even one politician pledged some money."

A dark haired man, perhaps in his late twenties dominated the set. Dressed in a rich blue suit, he stood tall, and gave off a dominating presence. A lilted half-smile spread across his thin lips.

"Onigumo Naraku," Inuyasha snapped to complete attention, having been half-listening, his chops rising into a snarl, "Prime Minister of Internal Affairs, has pledged ten million yen toward the cause."

Naraku continued with the subdued leer as cameras flashed and journalists jotted in their notebooks. Speaking in an oily-smooth voice, "I donate this money from my own pocket. I trust this will help to defray costs, but I realize it cannot make the tedious work here go any faster."

Kohana's voice took over again, freeze-framing Naraku's Q&A period. "Onigumo Naraku is one of those selected by his party as a presidential candidate, and says he will be visiting Tokyo on his campaign route around May. In other news…"

Mama punched the button on the remote, shaking her head. "Those poor people on Okinawa. I should have Grampa say a prayer for them, don't you think, Inuyasha?" He stared at her for a moment, tipping his head slightly in concurrence. The woman got up with a yawn, stretching her back a bit. "I better get to straightening up the gift shop for Dad…" she mumbled to herself, exiting the room.

Inuyasha glowered at the blank box before him. When he'd heard Naraku's name—seen him on TV—crashing waves of smoldering ire rippled through his body. _That bastard looks the same as he did back then…. Naraku doesn't care about those people…_ He snorted, remembering the first time he had even laid eyes on the conniving asshole.

It was fifty years ago, after Kikyou had placed the collar around his neck…

_"Inuyasha," Kikyou snapped tartly, "stay here. Stop fussing and behave or I'll have to tie you up again."_

_ He narrowed pools of molten gold on her, hoping to burn her iron-straight black-opal hair all the way up to their roots. It crossed his mind once to bit her leg or at least rip the hem of her black evening dress as she traced her lips in red, but decided against it. The many things she could punish him with were quite varied, and none of which was Inuyasha particularly fond of. So, he merely continued to glare and snarl quietly, just out of kicking reach._

_ Kikyou ran a hand through her hair, readjusting the diamond-studded barrettes that crowned around her head. She double-checked her reflection, straightening up little details here or there. "Behave while I am away," she said in a commanding tone, though much softer and gentler than before, unable to look down at him, "I do not want to have to do something heinous to…train you."_

_ Inuyasha snorted. He couldn't say a damn word; he knew she'd understand even the quietest utterance. _

_ The young woman picked up her black leather handbag and slipped on her high heels. Pulling an expensive fur coat around her, she hastily exited the house, not giving him enough time to slink past her._

_ Going to the window and standing on his back paws, Inuyasha saw a large American luxury pulled into the driveway. The driver's door swung outwards, and a tall, pale-faced man stepped out, eyeing Kikyou appreciatively while she buttoned up her coat. His dark curls hung greasily down his back, and Inuyasha felt repulsed even looking at him; the lewd stare he was giving Kikyou made the hanyou's stomach churn all the more. He had always thought of Kikyou as a dignified ice-beauty, some form of snow queen, not a tramp to be soiled by lustful gazes._

_ The greasy-haired man walked Kikyou around to the passenger side and opened the door with a practiced flourish. The humming of the foreign car made it hard for him to catch what they were saying as they loitered there. Inuyasha was only able to catch snippets that, overall, meant very little to him—only made him curious._

_ "…seen Inuyasha…?" the man asked._

_ Kikyou shook her head. "No, Naraku… disappeared… gone too…"_

_ Naraku's russet eyes sparked with vice and irritation. "I… go… where…think he…?"_

_ Slipping into the car, "Dead."_

_ Smirking faintly, Naraku pulled her up to her feet again by the hands. He wrapped his arms around her, placed a hand on the nape of her neck, and kissed her._

_ Inuyasha's mind whirled in repugnance…_

_ …when Kikyou kissed him back._

Inuyasha never forgot Naraku…the way he looked at Kikyou, the resentful gazes at him, the way Kikyou never said his name in Naraku's presence….

How Kikyou, even though she'd cursed him like this saying that it was "For you own safety, Inuyasha," had broken her promise to him.

Of loving only him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome walked briskly home for a two-day weekend, wearing her school sweater beneath her sapphire jacket with her school case hanging from her wrist. She had a pair of mittens on, yet even so, she had her hands jammed in her pockets. A headband protected her ears from the rolling gusts of relentless cold.

Regardless that she was practically sprinting home, the girl window-shopped. Beautiful Christmas decorations of scarlet and gold were shown in every store. Holiday specials lit up every window. Brightly colored toys were arranged in eye-catching window displays.

When she passed by a coffee shop, however, Kagome was halfway tempted to duck inside and order a hot chocolate or an espresso—she'd never been fond of regular coffee.

Unfortunately, she was a typical teenager in the way that she only had enough money for a payphone.

Tired but feeling relieved, Kagome tried not to gawp wishfully at the people sipping their piping hot drinks in the nice shop while she had another block or so to walk to the shrine. She'd aced her Trig test, hence the feeling of relief, after mulling over knowing how to find, for example, the sin of ninety degrees without using her calculator by taking the points from the unit circle and remembering that sin was equal to the y-coordinate…

Yeah, it had confused her for a while, too.

Studying for that test had cost her precious hours of sleep, and had she been more focused like she was normally, Kagome wouldn't have had to stay up for the additional two or three hours that she did. _All of a sudden, I'm not sure of anything… _She released a breath, absently watching it turn into a silvery cloud. _It's getting a little hard to focus on school work. Maybe I'm paranoid…or maybe it really is bothering me about how those demons got into the shrine. _

She had been so preoccupied with tending to Inuyasha, her schoolwork, and shaking off the premonitions she would get from time to time—this time one of dread and not a small one—that she had never actually checked out the mini-shrine; the police didn't always tell _everything._ And when Kagome did remember to investigate the mini-shrine, she was in the middle of school.

Another billowing wind combed her wavy hair into wild, ebony currents about her flushed face. A few stray snowflakes stuck to her rosy cheeks and long lashes as she contemplated, _No one has figured out how whatever got in there did, so…_

Nodding firmly to herself, Kagome kept up her quick step.

Eventually, after passing by other such pedestrians that were freezing like her, Kagome carefully ascended the Sunset Shrine steps. She crossed to the mini-shrine. The sliding doors had been bound together by a chain that wove through the dowels. It held fast. A thin sheet of plywood had been tacked up from the inside to keep the elements out of the gaps. _The only way to get in is through these doors…_ she reasoned, gently setting the school case on the snow-dusted porch, _and since none of the walls are damaged... _Kagome tapped a hand against her chin thoughtfully, peeking around the other sides just in case.

She continued to look over the entrance, an uncovered hand's fingertips running over the double sliders for some indication of forced entry. When her fingers were about numb, and just about to give up and warm up with a nice cup of cocoa from Mama Kagome felt a rather distorted twist of metal beneath her index finger.

Her peering automatically went to that place. The original lock on the doors had been melted, as if it had oozed away, and there was no soot residue as if someone used fire. _It'd have to be some form of acid,_ she decided, eyelashes lacing together a tad, trying to block out a few flurries. Kagome investigated for a bit more, getting eyelevel with the hole, and seeing the minute mechanisms were missing; in their place were globs of melted metal. "If it was an acid or something similar, it would have been injected right into the keyhole…" A shiver of cold touched her senses, as if brushing her mind and spirit.

She leaned forward a bit. "I can sense a very faint trace of youki here," she whispered to herself, taking the case and straightening. "A demonic acid… I wonder if the police noticed this."

Tugging her mitten over reddening hand, Kagome turned away from the mini-shrine and made her way to the house.

When Kagome opened the door, she was blanketed by the warming scents of ginger and other spices perfect for the season. She grinned cheerfully to herself, slipping off her loafers and tucking them beside Souta's on the landing. Taking off her jacket, she gleefully called, "Mama! I'm home!

"I'm in the kitchen, honey!" came the reply.

Kagome, still in her socks, wandered to the kitchen, leaving her school bag propped up against the side of the stairs. A giggle escaped her lips when she saw the gingerbread men her mother was pulling out of the oven. "Can I help decorate them, please?" she begged, sidling up to her mom.

Mama laughed, setting the cookie sheet on top of the stove. "Once they cool, Kagome, you and Souta can put the icing on them."

"Hehe!" The girl twirled around once. "Christmas is coming so close, I can almost taste it!" she romanticized. Her wild smile gained a more tamed demeanor, yet was no less dazzling as she said, "I have finals coming up in two weeks. I'm so nervous about English and math." She sat in one of the kitchen chairs, still watching her mother slid the cookies off the sheet and onto cooling stand.

Shaking her head, Mama took a gingerbread man and walked over to her daughter, handing her the cookie. "You're excellent in English, Kagome, and you study very hard in math" she soothed, smoothing out her daughter's wind-tussled hair. "I'm sure you'll have no problem at all."

"Thanks, Mom." Kagome nibbled on the gingerbread man, enjoying the ambience of her shrine-house. After a few pacific moments, she suddenly asked, "Mama? Do you…do you really believe in this whole fiancé business? How much do we _actually _know about him?"

Mama was quiet for a moment, wiping her hands off her apron before sitting in the chair beside Kagome. "Sometimes I'm not all that sure, sweetheart. I trust what your grandfather says but at the same time, we both know he has a tendency to…exaggerate what he says. For all we know, Grampa's friend just asked him to hold onto the sword because he was about to go into a suicide mission."

Kagome nodded, understanding. "Or…" she started softly, "Grampa could be telling the truth."

"That's right."

"But…for all we know his friend's son is dead, or married, or really old, or something." The girl released a frustrated breath.

Smiling good-naturedly, "That's why I let you go on that date with Houjou. Even Grampa isn't sure how old Inutaisho's son was at the time, or what has happened since then. If your promised fiancé doesn't show up by your sixteenth birthday, you'll be free to choose who you marry."

"So it'll be null and void?"

"That's right." Kagome leaned against her mom, comforted, until Mama queried, "Oh, how did you date with Houjou go, honey? You never told me."

"Uh…" Tell Mama the truth, or lie like a dog? "It was great! The movie was really good, and Houjou was a perfect gentleman."

"Well, that's wonderful, Kagome!"

Well, a half-truth was better than a bald-faced lie, right?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha double checked the calendar while Kagome worked vigorously on some Chemistry homework. (Something about acids and bases, equations or whatever, stuff he hadn't done in fifty years, and had no wish to repeat, actually). The new moon was indeed tonight, and would begin in about two hours.

Like every time prior, he felt a less infused with power, but due to the fact he was a dog at the moment, his senses of smell, hearing, and eyesight had yet to damper as extreme as it would had he been transitioning straight from hanyou to human.

_I'll meet up with Buyo in the storeroom and get changed in there. It shouldn't be a problem. All I have to do sneak past the geezer's room and I'll be free to leave. _He smirked. It was the perfect plan. The old man sawed logs no body's business, so all he would have to be was stealthy, which was his specialty.

About five days after he'd first turned human, he'd tossed the other clothes into washer when Mrs. Higurashi wasn't looking, and put the running shoes in the dryer. Likewise, he'd extracted them without her noticing and hid them behind other boxes in the storeroom that he and Buyo had decided to use as 'home base' when he was human.

Buyo had already taken the business card down there and tucked in one of the running shoes, he said. The feline even went so far as to ask, _"What kind of attire would you like to wear to visit your brother: casual, dress, or casual dress?"_

Having spent a majority of the day in his mistress's room, Inuyasha nosed around the books she had trying to learn a little more of what was going on in the world. When he'd been stuck with Kikyou, he'd done the same thing. After so much time, he had learned to really enjoy reading.

The month or so back when he saw Kagome remove that katana—Tetsusaiga—from that velvet-lined box, Inuyasha was pretty curious.

A dowry?

Fiancé?

For some reason, it bothered him a lot. Inuyasha wasn't sure why, but he was not keen on the idea of Kagome marrying some stranger she didn't even know; he thought she should be given a chance to fall in love, get married or screwed over, like everyone else. He had searched all the books he could reach, and even the scrolls in the main office, but he couldn't find a thing telling more about Tetsusaiga.

Considering that was taking precedence over all else, Inuyasha was fairly relaxed about going to see his enigmatic brother.

He was sure there would be no hitch tonight…

Then there was a knock on the door down stairs, and Mama saying, "Oh, Mrs. Hishinuma! I'm so glad to see you—oh, hello, Shippou! Let me go get Kagome. Kagome!"

Kagome pushed back her chair, a huge grin on her face and skipped passed a blank faced Inuyasha. "Coming!"

Slowly, Inuyasha slunk his way after her to see what all the hubbub was about. A little kitsune had launched himself onto Kagome, squealing her name happily; his mother stood smiling, speaking to Kagome as she lifted the fox-child into her arms, "Thank you for letting Shippou spend the night while you baby sit, Kagome. My husband and I really appreciate it. We weren't expecting my mother to get sick, so…."

"Oh, it's no problem. I love having Shippou around." The teenage girl tickled Shippou gently, making him giggle. "I hope your mother gets well, Mrs. Hishinuma."

"Thank you. All of his things are in his bag, and he brought a sleeping bag with him." The woman leaned over and kissed the boy on his gingery head. "Bye, sweetie pie. Be good for Kagome."

"I will, Mommy," he promised.

"Come on, Shippou," Kagome said, picking up his things before carrying him and his bag up the stairs, "let's set your sleeping bag on the floor of my room. I'll unroll mine, too. Ok?"

"Yay!"

Inuyasha trotted back into the bedroom ahead of the pair and sat on the floor. He stared at them when they came in.

Shippou jumped out of Kagome's arms and looked at Inuyasha. "Is this your dog, Kagome?"

"Mm-hmm," she replied, taking out his small blue and green checked sleeping bag.

Inuyasha locked gazes with Shippou. The little boy scrunched his nose for a moment before turning his head decidedly and saying, "He's weird. He's smells weird, too."

And that began Inuyasha's disliking of the brat and the beginning of a _difficult_ night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For an hour and a half, Kagome, Shippou, and Souta had played Chinese checkers on the floor of living room. Inuyasha had snuck by them and gone off to meet with Buyo, although he felt a emerald-azure stare follow after him as he did. The cat had picked out another pair of jeans, a black turtleneck, black and red striped boxers, a slightly dusty hunter jacket, and a pair of plain white socks.

Inuyasha waited out the transformation with Buyo, conversing with him as they waited. The laughter from the aforementioned trio danced into the dark room. Inuyasha wished he wasn't stuck lying on his stomach, waiting to change, but he couldn't risk anyone seeing him.

The transfiguration happened in the same way it had the time before, all within the span of a minute. Inuyasha pulled on the boxers first, then the rest of the articles—making sure to pull the turtleneck over his collar again. He slipped the socks on and wiggled his toes; it'd been a long time since he'd worn socks that they felt even odder than the rest of his clothing.

He didn't dare leave the storeroom until everyone had gone off to bed, or at least to their rooms. There was no window to climb out of like last time, so he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. The only way out was the rear door in the kitchen. With an irritated sigh, Inuyasha sat in the furthest, darkest corner and waited none too patiently.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shippou was sitting with Kagome in her room, playing a game of Candyland, when he looked to her and asked, "Kagome, can I go down and get something to drink? I'm getting thirsty."

She started to get up. "What do you want, Shippou? I'll go get it for you."

"I wanna get it myself."

"Well," she smiled, "alright. You know where everything is in the fridge. So be careful going down the stairs."

"I will, Kagome. I've got stairs at my house, remember?"

His babysitter laughed. "I know."

Shippou, in his acorn patterned pajamas, toddled down the stairs. The house was pretty dark, but there were a few nightlights to along the way to help. He held firmly to the railing until he got to the bottom. He went to the kitchen by unvoiced memory, hearing Kagome's Grampa's loud snoring and the ping of the hailstorm just starting. The digital clock on the microwave flickered to thirty minutes after nine.

Shippou opened the fridge and retrieved a juice box, filling the entire kitchen with butter-yellow light.

Then he heard a quiet noise, of something sliding, and a vague silhouette of a figure at the far end of the hall.

The fox-child shut the door hastily, using his enhanced demon sight to make out the shape of a young man in the darkness. Shippou knew that there were no other guys in the house besides Kagome's Grampa and Souta and everyone else except the old man was upstairs. _Why isn't that dumb dog of Kagome's barking? _wondered the boy in annoyance, and slight fear. What if it was a robber or something? Or murderer? Or the boogey man!

Shippou's little body trembled as the guy looked around the house carefully, stepping around the corner and smacking the back of his hand into the side of the wall. A muffled string of angry curses filled Shippou's ears. The little boy watched what he sure was the boogey man sauntered closer to him.

Panic wracked his nerves and he dropped his juice box, but then the little boy thought of his poor defenseless babysitter upstairs… What if the boogey man was after Kagome?! Shippou decided he had to do something to protect her, so he suddenly charged his nemesis, and successfully caught him off balance.

"Ha! I got you, boogey man!" he proclaimed in a strained whisper. Blue flames lit in his palms. "I'm going to give you three seconds to leave or I'll destroy you with my Kitsunebi!"

"And I'm going to give one second to get off my stomach, you brat, until I punch your head in," an angry teenage boy's voice hissed back. He pushed Shippou off. "And I ain't the boogey man, stupid."

Shippou rolled to the side, but the blue flame flared brightly. "I don't believe you, boogey man!" The little boy held the fire up to his enemy's face to see…a human boy with blue-black looking hair and ticked off eyes glaring at him. "Oh…you're not the boogey man."

"No, I'm not…" he tersely replied.

"…Then you're a murderer!"

"I'm not a murderer, you twit." Inuyasha picked Shippou up by the collar of his pajamas, making him eyelevel. "I'm just leaving the house. Don't mention this to Kagome. Got it?"

Shippou crossed his arms. "I don't believe you. How stupid do you think I am?"

_You thought I was the boogey man…_ Inuyasha mentally groaned, until he found a way out of his predicament. "You're right, Shippou," he started, setting the boy down. "I can't fool you…I'm the boogey man hunter."

"The boogey man hunter?" Shippou echoed back.

"Yeah…I don't want you to tell Kagome 'cause she might get scared that the boogey man is in her house." Inuyasha stopped, making a dramatic pause. He dropped into a fighting stance. "Hurry. Get whatever you need and go back upstairs. He's still here."

The little boy swallowed. "H-h-he is?!" he squeaked.

"Yeah, now get your stuff and hurry." Shippou ran over and grabbed his juice box and started to leave the kitchen when Inuyasha said, "Remember, don't tell Kagome. She'll get scared…and the boogey man might get her." The boy nodded and scuttled off. Inuyasha waited before chuckling out a, "Keh," and snuck out the kitchen door.

Kagome stared at an ashen Shippou, who continued to shake a little when he sat down fore her. "Shippou! Are you ok?"

He nodded and swallowed again, and locked a serious gaze on her. "You're safe now, Kagome. Don't be scared."

"Of what?" She blinked her cerulean eyes.

Shippou glanced around quickly before whispering, "_Him._"

"Oh…ok…" She shook her head as Shippou regained his color and returned to playing Candyland with her. _Little kids have such imaginations, _she thought laughingly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Done! Woo! That's the fastest I've written a chapter in comparison to another. Back-to-back my baby! (Speech and Debate, long story.) Well, I hope everyone liked this one too. I worked especially hard and all. My nephew stays up really late, even later than me sometimes, even when he was about four or so. He wouldn't go to bed, so I figured maybe Shippou's as energized as him. R&R! I loved all the reviews I've gotten; I've topped 300! Araigotou! Belated Happy Birthday to Queen Klu who celebrated a 15th birthday about 2 weeks ago or so.

This chapter is dedicated to my friend we lovingly call Mango. Today is her 17th birthday—well, her party anyway—and I wanted to dedicate this to her.

I really had trouble thinking of a title, though. Hehe.

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow

kitsune—fox

youki—demon energy

kitsunebi—fox fire


	12. Urchin

_Chapter Twelve: __Urchin_

The streets were void of a single soul, with the exception of one black-haired human boy.

Inuyasha bowed his head; the forest green jacket was pulled up high above his noggin in an effort to keep the hail from smacking it like it was the forsaken cars parked on the street.

The sound of the hailstones had started off making small chinks as they bounced off vehicles and slighter noises when jolting off the sidewalks and pavement and skipping a-ways. As the storm grew more intense, the cacophony grew faster and multiplied as the frozen rain thundered down in large, dull thuds, leaving many dented automobiles. It was this extreme weather that Inuyasha faced at this very moment.

_At least I managed to get out of the house, _he thought, shivering against frigid, wet wind. Hailstones thudded against his barely protected body, causing him to flinch somewhat—he'd been barraged like this for nearly an hour. There wouldn't necessarily be bruises, but the boy was certain of red marks.

Inuyasha smirked faintly. He hadn't been sure what to do when Shippou had leapt up and pushed him off balance. Tricking a kitsune, and with the boogey man hunter thing, no less, had made his departure, somehow, a little more lighthearted.

Hopefully he'd scared the fox-child enough that he wouldn't tell Kagome…

As he dwelled on his musings, Inuyasha retrieved the business card his brother had given him from the pocket of his jeans, stopping by an alleyway. At first, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, until he heard the sound of a metal trashcan clattering to the concrete, chiming a bit thickly as frozen rain hit it.

Curious, Inuyasha deterred from the sidewalk and took a few steps inward. His violet eyes glimpsed around to see what had caused the bin to fall. It was lying on its side, lid off, and the dull ringing continued. The boy heard something shuffle inside, rather lethargically. Suspecting it was an alley cat or some other city animal, Inuyasha turned to leave…

…but stopped when he saw a small hand reach out over the rim.

He immediately tramped over, thin mud from the dust that had collected on the concrete washing over his running shoes. Alarmed, he hunkered down fore the mouth of the garbage can. _What the hell…?! _

Inside, there was a small, shivering body—a little girl, maybe not much older than Souta. Her clothes were but rags, covering her thin, battered frame. The lass's skin was ashen, with a fevered scarlet over her nose and cheekbones. A bed of miscellaneous trash lay beneath her, no blanket to cover her.

"Hey…" Inuyasha started off softly, swallowing once. He gradually began to reach out. "Why don't you come here?"

The girl's lackluster brown eyes stared at him untrustingly as she shambled closer to the bottom of the can. She trembled more, hastily drawing her hand in and tucking both arms underneath her chest.

Inuyasha let his hand linger where it was. "I'm not going to hurt you…" he said, keeping in the same quiet tone. "I'm going to help you. Will you please come here?" He kept his gaze on her. "I promise I won't hurt you."

Shifting slightly, the little girl seemed to ponder this. A languid smile, one missing a few teeth, shone up at him, and she crawled over to him. Inuyasha waited as she stumbled out onto the concrete, still crouching.

"You don't look good."

The little girl nodded her head sadly at him. She rubbed her stomach, and took his hand and touched it to her brow.

She was burning up.

He swore heavily under his breath. _I can't just leave this by herself when she's so fucking sick. She doesn't have shoes! _Knowing that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't, Inuyasha nodded and slipped off his jacket. "I'm going to take you with me, and see if I can get you some damn help. Come on." He helped the girl slide the large green jacket over thin shoulders, and zipped it up; the hail smacked a bit harder against his black-sweater-covered back.

Then the girl smiled at him again.

"I'll carry you. It'll go a lot faster. Up you go." Inuyasha hoisted the girl into the cradle of his arms, adjusting the jacket to cover as much of her as possible with limited use of her hands. Thankfully, it protected a great deal of her. Striding out of the alleyway, Inuyasha hurriedly began to leg it for Sesshoumaru's again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome had tucked Shippou in bed at about ten thirty—the six-year-old continued mumble things that sounded something like 'hunter' and 'don't eat me'--, and had started absently studying again with her small desk light on. Her mind would wander from her comparative essay of kabuki theatre versus England's theatre during the time of Queen Elizabeth I to the sound of the balls of ice pattering off the roof of the shrine-house.

_Mama said that the news said it was only going to reach three degrees Celsius… I hate when the weatherman forgets to mention wind chill…maybe he didn't say what the low for tonight was gonna be. _Kagome pushed aside her pink curtain and peeked outside. The sky was a dusty black, and everything seemed to be painted by shadows with ethereal streaks of white heading for the sodden ground. _The hail is terrible outside._ _It's awful weather for anyone to be stuck in. _

She let the curtain swing shut again, before moving away from her desk, and rolling her chair over to the window and reopening the curtain. Resting her elbows on the sill, she blearily watched the scene again through the glass. For the first time in weeks, Kagome thought of Taisho.

_I wonder how he's doing. I haven't seen in a month…I wonder what he's up to. _She sighed, leaning her forehead against the cool glass. _I offered him to come and have dinner here…. I wonder if he's forgotten. Maybe he has. But he said he lives close…maybe he doesn't like me?_ Another tenet ran through her head, _Or maybe you just like him more than he likes you._

Kagome shook her head, doing her best not to speak aloud and wake up the happily dozing fox-child.

_Maybe…maybe he went somewhere. Or…_ her eyes grew wide at the contemplation, _he has a girlfriend! _She sighed, part of her feeling angry, another depressed, another confused, and another…just really cold.

Grabbing a blanket off her bed, Kagome brought her legs up and sat cross-legged on the rolling chair. _Taisho… Mama mentioned the name of Grampa's friend as Inutaisho. I wonder if there's a connection. _She yawned lightly, settling against the sill again. _But I thought Grampa mentioned his friend was a demon…a demon lord…. Inutaisho…'dog-demon boss'…. _

_Maybe Taisho's a leader of a gang or something. _She giggled faintly into the glass, half of her buying it and the wanting it to be true for some odd reason.

_Well, Inuyasha's name means 'dog-demon spirit'…and 'yasha' is used as part of a tough guy's gang name. Maybe Inuyasha's a member of a doggy gang. _Kagome snuggled against the glass, still laughing at that idea.

As her torpid eyelids lowered, the funniest thought passed through her brain: _Maybe Taisho and Inuyasha are the same person…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha glanced down at the bundle in his arms. The girl hadn't made a sound for the past half hour, but he could feel her move and her small heart beating. Still, when he held with one arm, and used the other to feel her brow, it was even hotter than before.

He had reached the Nakushima district about fifteen minutes ago. He was on the boulevard Sesshoumaru's card said the mansion would be on, and kept his eyes out the address. Moving quickly but carefully, Inuyasha checked the house number of each of the looming miniature castles.

When he reached the end of looped street, at the very peak was a large white house. Tall black iron gates were at least four times Inuyasha's height, and were tipped with sharp spikes. A giant fountain stood in the middle of the grounds; a very noble-looking dog was charging forward, water coming from the mouth. It rose to three stories, a few lights shining from behind fine silk curtains fitted at each window.

_Nice to know Sesshoumaru is living so comfortably, _Inuyasha thought bitterly, inadvertently glimpsing at the waif he carried. He found the intercom and jammed the round red button with his elbow.

A voice crackled through the speaker. "Yes?"

"I'm here to see that bastard Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha hissed back over the din, having to bend over awkwardly to hit the button and talk into the microphone. "Open up would ya?"

"Who's there?" the gatekeeper's voice snapped back.

"The boogey man," the boy couldn't stop himself saying in annoyance, hailing whapping his back—the sweater having stuck to his skin from getting so sopping wet. "For fuck's sakes, let me the hell in. I'm Inuyasha…Sesshoumaru's brother." Why did it feel so nasty calling himself that?

With a grumble over the intercom, the gates slowly began to inch inwards. Inuyasha started for cobblestone walk, when the gatekeeper groused, "Master Sesshoumaru has been expecting you."

Smirking Inuyasha made his way up the walk, hearing the gates shut behind him once more.

Eventually, amongst the frozen rain, the boy made it to the wide stone porch. A valence shielded him from the direct path of the storm. He was about to knock on the door when it opened and his brother stood there, still dressed in a cream-colored, button-up dress shirt and navy slacks.

"And here I thought you were caught by the dog-catcher. Come, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru instructed, a very petite half-smile on his face as he held the door open wide enough for the boy and his charge to slip through.

"Thanks for the personal greeting," the teenage boy sarcastically said as he stepped into the richly decorated calling room. He watched his older brother's eyes go to the green jacket bundled in his arms, raising an eyebrow as the faintest clue of inquisitiveness. Inuyasha moved the coat a bit to reveal the little girl's fevered face, swirls of dark brown hair plastered against her damp skin. "I found her in one of the alleys on the way here."

Sesshoumaru looked at the girl for a moment, as poker-faced as ever. Finally, "A street urchin… Jaken!"

Immediately, from one of the side rooms, the toad demon came scuttling along. "Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?" he eagerly asked.

"Go and show Inuyasha where to place this child and then have one of Yuki's nannies tend to her. After that, get my little brother some dry clothing."

Jaken's large yellow eyes peered up at the human teenager with first uncertainty, and then with disdain.

Inuyasha smirked faintly at the disgusted look on the toad's face. "Got a problem, Jaken?"

He opened his beaklike mouth to say something, but saw the commanding glare of Sesshoumaru and feebly mumbled instead, "Of course not…_Lord _Inuyasha…."

Inuyasha's smirk only widened as he carried the child up the curving staircase after Jaken. The polished marble was covered by a long, ruby runner. The reached the top, Jaken muttering undecipherable things to himself.

Expensive gold and silver illuminations ran as boarder along the top of the walls. Antique vases and other beautiful, costly items adorned the hallway and the rooms they passed. Finally, they came to the guest room.

Gingerly, Inuyasha laid the girl on the blankets, and slipped her out of his dripping coat. The girl grabbed for it apathetically. The boy set it on the floor and lifted her up again to tuck her in up to her chin.

"Stay here," Jaken ordered harshly, going to the doorway. "I'll go get Miss Kumiko to attend to her."

Shrugging at the toad's rudeness—which hadn't changed in the slightest since he'd last seen him in a humanoid form—Inuyasha sat heavily in the armchair beside the bed. He peered at his running shoes; twice he'd broken the rules of no shoes in the house; once at the Higurashi's and here at Sesshoumaru's.

Inuyasha was quiet, wondering how Kagome was doing at that moment. He hoped everything would be all right at the shrine. So far, so good.

"You're lucky, you know," he suddenly said for no apparent reason. "I didn't have some good Samaritan come and save my ass when I was shivering in an alley during a hailstorm." Inuyasha went silent again, staring at the finery, cast in a gentle light from a lamp on the reading table. "I'm not a good Samaritan though…" He sighed tensely. "I'm…I don't know….

"Fucking hated by the gods, that's what."

He leaned his head back, just wanting to curl up and sleep for a good long while. His clothing was sticking to him everywhere, and not comfortable by any stretch of an insane imagination. His arms ached for carrying that little human girl through the hail for gods knew how many blocks. His long midnight hair felt like a dead weight, yanking on his scalp and straining his human neck.

Inuyasha absently ran a hand through his soaked locks, his fingers snagging at the wind-spun knots. His emotions were running in every direction, and he wasn't quite sure which one to follow. The one he was currently chasing was confusion and he figured that once he had his little chat with Sesshoumaru, perplexity and he were going to be well-acquainted.

A cat-demon walked into the room, and a pleasant smile spread behind her whiskered face. She held an armful of clothes. "These are for you, sir. There's a bathroom to your right. Please go and get changed in there."

"Thanks." He reluctantly rose, accepted the clothes, and went to the bathroom.

He shut the door and locked after him before removing his wet articles and stealing a towel to dry himself off with. He looked to the mirror and he stared the strange reflection in bewilderment until he realized that was his face.

Turning away, he picked up a Spanish-style white dress shirt and black pants, also Spanish-style. Putting his complimentary boxers and slipping the shirt and pants on, Inuyasha thought all he need was an embroidered vest and a red cape and he'd look a matador. (He'd read about those in one of Kikyou's old books of history.)

Inuyasha picked up his wet clothes, not sure what to do with them, and slipped on the blue house slippers Miss Kumiko brought for him. He stepped out of the bathroom, still inspecting his clothes.

Miss Kumiko smiled at him again when he exited. "Well, don't you look dandy," she said laughingly; she reminded him a little of Kagome. "You can set your clothes in the sink, dear, and I'll get them later."

"Uh…ok…. What about my shoes?"

"Oh, just leave them on the floor."

Inuyasha did as he was told and returned. He watched as the nurse attended to the little girl, making soft, soothing noises in the back of throat as she took the girl's temperature. The little girl stayed asleep even while she was given medicine.

Miss Kumiko, noticing Inuyasha's intense stare, murmured, "A strong demon potion. Your little friend should be fine in a few days. Master Sesshoumaru's daughter Yuki had a terrible cold a few weeks ago, and a bit of this helped her get over it in two days."

Nodding his gratitude at the information, and surprised by the fact his brother had a child, Inuyasha exited. He made it down the staircase again where Jaken waited.

"This way…ingrate," he muttered.

"Degenerate," the boy replied quietly.

_"What_ did you say?" Jaken rounded on him.

"Nothin'." He crossed his arms. "Keep frog-marching, toad."

Jaken clamped his mouth shut, making annoyed gurgles in his throat.

Inuyasha was lead into a large room, bright because of all the light colored furniture. His brother sat in a stuffed white chair, while a woman with glossy black hair tied in a bun, dressed in her nightgown, spoke to him, seated on the arm of the chair. The boy watched both of them as he plopped onto the long, half-circle couch four feet or so away across the way.

"Inuyasha, I want you to meet my wife Kagura." He took the woman's hand.

Kagura gave a half-smile. "So you're Sesshoumaru's younger brother." She chuckled when he didn't make any particular answer. She got off the chair, giving her husband a tiny peck on the cheek, before walking towards the yawning entryway; Kagura adjusted a knob on the wall so the light dimmed, and the fireplace from behind her husband became the prime light source. "Well, I'll leave you boys to talk. I'm going to see how Kumiko and that girl are doing.

"Come along, Jaken. Don't get under Sesshoumaru's feet, you groveling, little wretch," she said breezily, waving a hand in farewell. Jaken sighed deeply, toddling after his mistress.

Sesshoumaru waited until the pair were out of sight before he spoke. "Seeing as you're already seated, I'll get straight to the point."

"You were always good at being blunt."

"As are you. In any case, little brother, this house was left to me by our father. There is a second one on the other side of the city, close to the water, that is in your name. At this point in time, it is my summer home.

"This fortune, this splendor, was left to us by Father." Sesshoumaru gestured to the luxury with an elegant wave of his hand. "However, if we cannot find the deed to renew our joint ownership of the Western Lands, it will be up for bids."

"And this guy you were talking about last time?"

"His name is Onigumo Naraku."

Inuyasha felt his blood run colder.

Sesshoumaru spared a lilted smirk at the expression on his younger brother's face. "So you've heard of him?"

Inuyasha nodded tensely. "Yeah…met him a few times…collar on."

The demon lord made a slight bow of his head. "I see. Naraku is trying to get a nice hold on this land. Due to our father's influence, this place has prospered. I am still gathering information to discover his true motives. What I do know is he wants more power politically…and militarily."

Peering curiously at the full-blooded dog-demon, Inuyasha remarked, "He must know something we don't know, 'cause since the end of World War II, Japan hasn't been allowed to have an offensive military, as part of the reconstruction deal. And with the inspectors, they'd know if we weren't fulfilling it." Before Sesshoumaru could rebuke him, for stupidity Inuyasha reckoned, he continued on, "But, Naraku's a demon, so he could easily hide it if he wants to. And that bastard's not one to play by the rules."

"Bravo. I wasn't sure if you had thought that far ahead."

Inuyasha allowed a smirk to cross his face. "Now I got a question for you. How the hell did you find me?"

Sesshoumaru relaxed into the back of the chair. "I have eyes and ears everywhere, little brother. Even so, this was a fluke. I heard that the Sunset shrine brought home a guard dog, a pure white husky called Inuyasha. I sent one of my associates to visit the shrine, and they saw you and that girl that answered the door—"

"Kagome" Inuyasha interrupted. "Her name's Kagome."

"Yes, they saw you and _Kagome_ outside playing with her younger brother and she called you by name." Sesshoumaru folded his hands in the open prayer position over his stomach, elbows resting on the arms of the chair. "My associate could understand your speech, and reported to me his findings. I decided to take a little trip to the downtown Tokyo area and see you myself. That old priest can drabble on, but it was worth it. You're sitting here right now."

"Amazing you came looking for me now when you need something," Inuyasha bit callously, tucking his hands in the billowing white sleeves of the bullfighter shirt.

Raising an eyebrow slightly, "I thought you had died during one of the raids. It wasn't until years later that I tracked you down at Kawasaki, to find you and your girlfriend Kikyou had left the apartment. Or, more accurately, Kikyou and a dog. That woman managed to elude me with her spells, so I put your search on hiatus."

Inuyasha wasn't sure if he should be insulted or be touched.

He blinked once.

Ah, confusion won out again.

All he managed to say was, "Kikyou put a spell in this collar I'm wearing," he tapped the leather band around his neck. "I won't be released until a strong enough miko can remove it. Until then, I'm stuck sleeping on the floor."

Sesshoumaru nodded once to show he understood the predicament. "You see, Inuyasha, the only way to get to the deed is deep within Father's catacombs, beneath his mausoleum. The problem lies in the fact in the clue he left me with: two must be present, four in all, and it shall be revealed to the destined." Sesshoumaru dropped his hand to the side and brought up with it a long katana. The polished sharkskin shone like ebony, and the blade the regal demon drew from it was unblemished and perfectly crafted, reflecting the light from the fireplace in a beautiful way.

"What the…?" The boy's muscles coiled, waiting for a tip off to instruct him to take off.

"This is Tenseiga." Sesshoumaru changed the hold on the blade, making it look like the fire was dancing along Tenseiga's edge. "I have reasoned that the two in the hint is this sword and yours, Inuyasha. The Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha's heart leapt up to his throat in two seconds flat, hammering against his voice box before suicide-diving into the pit his stomach and finally settling back into its original spot. _The…the Tetsusaiga…? How can that be…? If I'm Tetsusaiga's owner…that must mean I'm Kagome's fiancé! _He swallowed thickly, feeling very lightheaded all of a sudden, and not connected to his body.

"The four," Sesshoumaru continued on, only eyeing his brother somewhat, "is the two of us and the swords, as they were forged from our father's fangs are related to him also. The last bit, I would assume, would be the deed."

Inuyasha swallowed, his body growing ever more alien. "So…" he spoke in a low tone, "you knew where the Tetsusaiga was…."

"Very perceptive of you, little brother." Sesshoumaru slid the Tenseiga into its scabbard once more and set it to the side. "My sword is that of healing, and yours is of destruction. A guardian's sword. I tracked down the sword smith who forged them, Toutousai, and he explained to me that Tetsusaiga has stipulations to it. The first being that it has to be wielded in protection of humanity. The second that the wielder must be chosen by Tetsusaiga, from our family line, and mixed-blood."

Inuyasha could hear his heart beating in his ears, scarcely able to hear his brother's quiet words over the tattoo. "So…do we know where the mausoleum is?"

Sesshoumaru gave a small nod. "Thanks to your retainer, Myouga, I have found the location. Father's body, along with your mother's was preserved during that raid, most probably by your mother's manipulation of magic."

The boy bobbed his head, remembering how powerful of a sorceress his mother had been. "Where's Myouga?"

"Right here, Lord Inuyasha!" a sudden yell filled the room.

Inuyasha watched in bafflement as a small dot hopped from behind Sesshoumaru's neck and landed on his knee. There sat the little flea-demon, tears flooding his eyes. "Long time no see, old man."

"Lord Inuyasha!" Myouga bawled, leaping up and sucking on the boy's nose.

Squashing the flea, and letting him swish to the ground, the dark-haired teenager looked to his brother. "I take it you're giving him back, right?" he asked dryly.

"Indeed."

"Fuck."

"Lord Inuyasha…!" Myouga cried in a whine, bounding onto his master's knee again.

Sesshoumaru ran his claws through his straight platinum hair, falling in a silky cascade. "Inuyasha, I have heard that someone tried to break into the mini-shrine, presumably to steal Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah. Some weird bee demons."

"Bee demons?" he echoed back. "Naraku's calling card."

"What?!" the boy exclaimed, leaning forward so quickly that Myouga fell off. "You mean…he knows?"

"He may have found out the agreement between that old priest and Father."

Inuyasha sat back. "The promised engagement…"

"Correct. And if he knows this, then there will be trouble." Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a moment, asking, "How well are they protecting it."

"Uh…" the boy scratched his head thoughtfully, "they have an ofuda on it, some member of the shrine was going to donate a security system…" He spotted the knowing smirk on his brother's face. "Your doing?"

"Naturally."

"Well…and there's another spell on it."

"Father's warding. It's in source hold."

"…And me."

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes, a commanding gleam in his pale gold orbs. "You must watch that girl Kagome and the sword. Only a human would be immune to those spells, and if they are clever enough, they will be able to dispose of the security system, though I doubt it.

"I developed it."

Sighing again, Inuyasha flopped all the way into the sofa cushions. "Gods…what the hell did I do…?"

"You have to protect the Tetsusaiga, and most assuredly the girl. Your mother wrote the prophesy in one of the books in the library, yet Jaken is too incompetent to find it." Sesshoumaru rose, and Inuyasha followed. A pair of black boots, socks, and a heavy red coat sat on a table along the wall. Inuyasha picked them up when his brother gestured at them. "Come back here again in a month when you are human. I will keep the girl here. I think Yuki might like to have someone else to play with when she's well; she's only seven after all."

"Fine. As long as she gets better. I'm not sure if she can talk though." Inuyasha tugged the socks and boots on—how his brother knew his size, was a wonder--and then the coat.

"Whatever Kumiko gave her will heal that." Sesshoumaru put his hand on the doorknob, pausing to say to his little brother, "If you get that collar off, wait until you are human to come."

"Got it. Later."

With a final bob of his head, Sesshoumaru ushered his brother out and shut the door.

Zipping up his coat and pulling up the hood, Inuyasha began to walk down the cobblestone path of confusion.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Wow! Three for three! Well, this is what I'm able to get out. I'm going to prom next weekend, and I will have to finish that research paper, so everyone, I hope these three chapters will tide you over for now. Thanks so much! I feel so loved and I appreciate Quatic pointing out my mistake on Japanese currency (though she was off, too ). Dedicated to my mommy again! I love reviews everyone!

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow


	13. Dreaming

_Disclaimer:_ You have _got _to be kidding me…

A/N: Busy! Busy, busy, busy, busy! Quick thing to EspeonX: Actually, Tetsusaiga can be spelled both ways. It's a thing in Japanese that the 'tsu' can sound like a 's', hence, Tessaiga or Tetsusaiga. Thanks for trying to be helpful. Quatic: you weren't clear, but thanks all the same.

Someone asked how old Inuyasha is, which I already said, but I'll say it again; he was 17 when he was placed under the spell.

Thanks also to the compliment that my writing has improved; I noticed the shift, too, actually—but opening chapters to this were more lighthearted, so I guess I don't create such a strong atmosphere unless there's a 'darker' mood. There was description, just nothing overly critical to put down. Now however…

_Chapter Thirteen: __Dreaming _

                The streetlamps shined gently through the misty night air, allowing the boy to pass through the hoops of light as he trudged his way home. The hailstorm had lessened considerably as Inuyasha made his way home to the Higurashi Shrine. Even though the ice pellets weren't assaulting him physically, they took on the form of thoughts, pounding his mind into puzzled submission.

                Myouga had blathered on about how much he'd missed his young lord, but had eventually given up when a grunt seemed like a wordy response. Brooding always kept Inuyasha especially tightlipped.

                Tokyo was a sleeping giant tonight, and that didn't help with the eerie ambiance as shadows and light took turns chasing each down the valleys of his face.

                Inuyasha kept his hands tucked into his coat pockets, feeling twice as warm as he had been when he left the shrine-house, although it was only bodily warmth.

As he finally climbed the familiar steps, that out-of-body sensations touched his soul again, yet in a good way. His heart beat faster, eager and jubilant to return to the place in which he had begun to call his home while at the same time his breathing was even and calm, taking solace in the quiet serenity of the shrine and the guardian forest that lay near him.

                He drifted over to the Goshinboku, and placed a hand on the careworn bark. All of a sudden, all the doubts and worries and confusion he'd been suffering seemed to fly straight out of Inuyasha and into the tree. That lulling tranquility that breathed from this god-tree wrapped protectively around the boy, and he felt more in control and his tired mind much clearer.

                Half-smiling, Inuyasha backed away and made his way to the kitchen door at the rear of the house. Carefully he turned the knob and pushed it open, mentally whispering a thanks to whatever deity was cutting him some slack by allowing it to stay unlocked as he had left it, the boy crept inside the noiseless house. He shut the door in the same way in which he'd opened it, and fastened all three locks on it; the one on the knob, the chain, and the slider.

                Leaning against the wood frame, Inuyasha slipped the boots and socks off—he had always been fonder of prowling around barefoot. Taking them in hand, he went to the storeroom, unzipping his coat as he did. "Myouga," Inuyasha whispered, quietly sliding the storeroom door.

                "Hmm—wah!" the flea yawned, stretching both sets of arms. "Yes, Master?" he asked from his spot in his lord's inside coat pocket.

                "See that cat?" He pointed to the obese feline curled upon a stack of brochures. "That's Buyo. Hop over and get some shut-eye, old man. I don't think he'll mind.

                "But make yourself discreet, hide—something you're good at."

                Myouga yawned again, apparently too exhausted to defend his non-existent valor. He bounced from his perch to the dozing Buyo's backside without a single protest.

                Inuyasha shook off his coat and hid it, along with his shoes, beneath an upturned cardboard box. He made for a corner to sleep in, yet he suddenly paused.

                Then, while a smirk bloomed across his face, he crept to the entryway and slid it open once more.

                He soundlessly crossed over the kitchen floor, bare feet touching the linoleum carefully, in case of something in his way. The nightlights cast quiet glows at the darkest areas of the house, like near the bottom of the stairs.

                Inuyasha climbed the carpeted steps, hand hovering above the banister. The air was warm, and sympathized with his wear body's desire for rest. Still, he made to the second floor; the old priest's snoring wove in as distant background noise.

                The boy carefully glided down the hall, detouring once into Souta's room to cover the little boy, who had kicked his blankets off; Souta continued to snooze happily away.

                He passed by Mama's closed door and the upstairs bathroom only a few paces away. Finally, he reached his destination.

                Kagome's door was ajar, probably so Shippou could run into the bathroom in case of 'emergency' without a hassle. Quietly, Inuyasha padded in--the indirect city nightlights lessened the darkness slightly, making it easier for him to step over the fox child.

                The kitsune was curled up in his sleeping bag with one of Kagome's old stuffed bears. Inuyasha smirked faintly as Shippou  grumbled, "Boogey man…don't taste good…gotta run…"

                First looking to the bed, Inuyasha was alarmed when he didn't see Kagome. When he spotted her pillowed on the sill, relief washed over his muzzy brain. That girl could get into all forms of trouble when he wasn't around.

                Well, and plenty of it when he _was_ around but that's beside the point.

                The boy walked over to her, hearing her soft breathing; her breath made a circle of fog on the frigid glass. He pushed back the pink curtains, shaking his head. _You're going to be really sore if you sleep that, you twit…_

                Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around her waist. He quickly adjusted her so she was in a one-armed hold, leaned up against his chest—he was careful to make sure the rolling chair didn't move too much. Then, he used his other hand to uncross her legs, stretching them out, and crouched so he could slip his other arm underneath her knees.

                Inuyasha gently lifted Kagome, her blanket sliding off. She lolled against his chest once more, finding a comfortable place by the front of his shoulder. Carrying her bridal-style, he leaned over the bed to lay her down; he gulped nervously when she cuddled closer, one dainty hand falling upon the flesh that protected his mortal heart.

                Kagome murmured in her sleep numerous unclear words. Her long fingers reached out and gripped the boy's shirt laxly as she was tipped onto her bed, drawing the already-deep neck of his shirt lower until it hit about the middle of his sternum.

                Even though the grasp was not stalwart, Inuyasha found that when he tried to back away, he was still captive to her hold, only centimeters away from her lips.

Inuyasha made another anxious swallow as his heart swelled in copious angst. He released a slow, constricted breath, watching as it teased the tendrils that framed her shadow-cast face. Without thinking, he wet his own dry lips, pondering an odd little notion that seemed to arise every time he was near her in this form, though he knew not why. 

Hesitantly, he tested how much Kagome's grip would tether without disrupting her.

                It kept him very near.

                His traitorous heart beat lucidly in his human ears and hummed in his chest like a plucked guitar string. His mind became devoid of any thoughts…

                As Inuyasha's lips met Kagome's.

                It was feather-light and chaste, yet tentative and swift, and sent disconnected sensation through his body.

                His wide violet eyes blinked largely at his boldness.

                A lazy smile spread over the soft lips he'd just touched.

                The grip on his shirt relaxed.

                Sucking in a deep breath, Inuyasha drew himself up. He retrieved the forgotten blanket and tucked Kagome in.

                Kagome's smile continued, but minute lines gradually began to touch her visage. Softly, barely audible, he asked the quiescent girl, "What're you dreaming about, Kagome?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                _The air was a hazy white, and Kagome could see something running towards her through the fog. She called out to the figure only to have her voice become trapped in the dense mist. Bit by bit, the form became clearer._

Taisho….

_                His pitch locks quavered after him, and his wine eyes shined as some unseen celestial light dappled through the mist. At his heels was Inuyasha, looking as determined as it was possible for a canine. The two seemed to run in step towards her ,growing more distinct and closer, even though Kagome she was not moving. _

Where are you? _Kagome thought, eyes contorting into confused expressions. She wanted to reach out to Taisho, to Inuyasha, but for some reason, she couldn't. _

_                Then Inuyasha and Taisho seemed to overtake each other, and their images grew bigger and bigger until they completely filled her vision. Kagome's focus inadvertently shifted to their eyes, seeing only one gold and one violet eye. _

_                Amber and wine swirled together brightly, blending and swirling and covering the other._

_                Then the colors whirled and everything went stark white. _

_                "Kagome…" she heard a familiar voice say. It sounded so much like Taisho's, but had a form of roughness to it that Kagome couldn't attribute to anything she knew. _

_                The field of alabaster waned to a pale ocher…_

_                Electric ambry-gold orbs and strands of cesium-silver fluttered before her stormy eyes. A countenance much like Taisho's wavered into view, but it was altered. Husky-like dog ears atop his head, intense-hued eyes, pastel hair, but so enchanting. This very boy stood before her, Kagome now able to see him fully, and with no uncertainty allowed him to lean over and brush his lips against hers._

_                Kagome's eyes closed as she was wrapped in a warm embrace, indulging in honey-sweetness…_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Inuyasha slunk quietly back to the storeroom, carrying a blanket he'd nicked from the laundry room. He undressed and folded his clothes and hid them with his other articles. He wrapped the heavy coverlet around his shoulder and stalked to the darkest, most obscure corner of the storeroom. Laying half the large blue blanket down, the boy folded himself into it, covering the rest of his naked body against the cold air.

                He settled into the semi-bed, still contemplating on his actions only moments ago.

                _What's wrong with me…?_ His eyelids slid together. Reflections of Kagome's smiling face danced across his mind. _I can't stop thinking about her. _

                Sesshoumaru's words came echoing back to him: _"You have to protect the Tetsusaiga, and most assuredly the girl. Your mother wrote the prophesy in one of the books in the library, yet Jaken is too incompetent to find it."_

Closely following were Kaede's: _"She is an extremely special child, and unfathomably gifted, though she doesn't know it yet. …She is a young miko; however, the problem lies with the fact that she cannot harness and utilize her power to the fullest extent. You must protect her, Inuyasha."_

                _Kagome is a really nice person, and I can't let anything bad happen to her…even if I'm doubly cursed like this…_ Languidly, said girl's face began to fade and silence crept into Inuyasha's brain. _I won't let Naraku hurt her…though I'm not sure what he'd do…._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Shippou waved his hand madly at his babysitter. "Bye, Kagome!" he yelled as his mother lead him by the hand.

                "Thank you, Kagome," Mrs. Hishinuma said. "My sister lives in Sakura and came down to stay with my mother right now. If you could, dear," she stopped to place a hand on Kagome's shoulder, "would you say a prayer for my mother?"

                The girl nodded with a slight smile, keeping a tight hold on Inuyasha's collar. The dog didn't attempt to break away. "Of course."

Mrs. Hishinuma let out a grateful sigh, her hand sliding off. "Thank you again."

She smiled consolingly, the kind of smile mother's always adored and made them want rush over and embrace the bearer. "Bye, Shippou. Be good."

                "I will."

                With that, Kagome shut the door and released her pet. She looked down at him. "It's about breakfast time. I'm actually pretty hungry, and you weren't around when I tried to feed you last night." She scratched his head. "You really didn't like having Shippou around, huh? Well, I'll bet you're ready for some chow."

                Inuyasha made the dog-equivalent of a shrug before trudging after her. 

                They turned into the kitchen and Kagome started rifling through the cabinets for some of the canned dog food Mama had bought. She snatched the can and an opener. She took the sharp-edged lid and tossed it into the trash receptacle before dumping the contents into Inuyasha's bowl. "There you go."

                He rather stared at it, not in the distasteful way he normally did. To be honest, he wasn't even seeing it. He licked a gravy covered cube of lamb meat—finding it wasn't all that bad—and nibbled at it listlessly.

Inuyasha was still puzzled about his behavior when he'd come home, and even more so about the clue his brother had shared with him. Something about it didn't seem quite right…it was too simple….

                Or, his paranoia was acting up again.

                Still, it was enough to make him slump to the tile floor fore his bowl. Inuyasha's ears twitched of their own accord as Kagome poured herself a bowl of cereal, turning on the radio and listening as her favorite male singer, Atsuhiro Satoh, sang a sweet, little Christmas jingle; it was pretty the way the girl's first soprano hit each note, even much better than the teen idol did—or that was Inuyasha's opinion, at least.

                It was then that he came to the open-and-shut conclusion that his human form played more on his emotions—which he already knew—and took his fondness for Kagome further than he meant to; he wasn't in his normal, hanyou faculties during that time.

                But… _What if it's more than that…?_ an unknown being continued to nag in the back of his head, but Inuyasha, with practiced determination, wrestled it to the depths of darkness of his mind where it belonged. No need to be thinking of frivolous things right now.

                Kagome waltzed around the kitchen singing, putting away the milk and shutting the refrigerator door with her hip as she spun to her left to pull out a spoon from the drawer of the island. She did another twirl as she lifted her bowl of cereal and made her way to the kitchen table. With a flourish, she set it on the table and pulled out a chair, making quite a show of sitting down.

                "Taa-daa!" she sang, throwing her arms out to the sides and giving them a good old vaudeville wave as a new song came on.

She laughed like a maniac as Souta shouted, "Shut _up, _Kagome!" from the den.

Inuyasha waggled his tail a bit and let out a kudos-bark.

"Well, at least someone appreciates my talent." She feigned haughtiness before bursting into hysterics again. Kagome had been in an _incredible _mood since she woke up. First, she'd been having this weird dream about her Trig teacher trying to eat with her textbook for a mouth, but then it'd shifted to the most _wonderful_ reverie she'd had in a long time.

It had started off with Taisho running towards her, and Inuyasha appearing by him, and they were all in some form of ethereal mist. Then it'd changed again until finally she saw a boy that she could only think of as the hybrid of Inuyasha and Taisho—_kind of a like a half-demon, _she'd noted—and he was so handsome and…Kagome couldn't quite think of the word that would encompass all the words that popped in her brain, but she was so absolutely fascinated by the very notion him. _Too bad there's no one that looks like him, _Kagome had thought with slight woe.

And the kiss she dreamt about…! Gods, that was even better since she'd never been kissed and to have some sinfully beautiful boy…well, Kagome wished that dream would have lasted a bit longer. Pity she could not remember a darn thing after that kiss…

To be quite frank…

                _I wonder how I got into bed last night. I fell asleep on the window… _"Maybe I sleepwalked to bed." Kagome glanced down to Inuyasha, who stared pensively over the sink counter. "Do you think it's possible to sleepwalk to bed, Inuyasha?"

                His head quickly swiveled towards her, looking very frazzled.

                "I used to sleepwalk when I was a kid, so maybe I did. Or maybe I was tired enough that I got up and went to bed but don't remember…" she mused aloud, spooning some cornflakes onto her spoon.

                _"Yeah…you think that, Kagome. You sleepwalked yourself to bed." _Inuyasha sighed, relieved.

                "…But I remember feeling like I was lifted up…" the girl mumbled again, twirling her utensil in the bath of milk and cereal.

                _"Eh…."_

                A high-pitched ringing filled the room. Kagome set her spoon down at toddled over to the other room to answer the phone. She punched the 'talk' button as she lifted the receiver to her ear. "Higurashi residence."

                "Hey, Kagome!" Sango's voice bubbled across the line. "I didn't wake you or anything did I?"

                "No, I was up early for a change this weekend. What's up?"

                "I need a break from finals studying, and I figured you did too, so I wanted to know if you were in the mood to go Christmas shopping with me?"

                "Definitely! I'll let Mom know and—oh! We can go to that little boutique that opened up in the central district…"

                Inuyasha shook his head as he turned away from the doorway. _What is it with girls and shopping?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Kagome grinned merrily as she brushed her inky locks again with a soft-bristled brush. She was ready for some serious shopping, and had changed out of her hanging-around-the-house clothes. Inuyasha was lying beside one of her open texts; she laughingly thought it looked like he was reading.

                What a silly thought.

                Maybe he was a little put-out that she wasn't taking him with her. That darn dog seemed to almost _brood_ or something when he didn't get his way.

                A sound knock came from downstairs. She was halfway descended with her purse and tan leather jacket thrown on when Mama called, "Kagome! Sango and—Sango's here!"

                The girl hopped over the last two steps to find Sango standing in the open sliding doorway and Mama beaming.

                "Guess what I found on the street corner?" she asked before stepping aside…

                "Miroku!" Kagome chirped as an obsidian haired boy gaited over to her and caught her in an embrace. She hugged him return, giggling happily. "It's so nice to see you."

                He backed away and smiled a lazy, lopsided grin, violet eyes sparkling with some form of hidden mischief. "Likewise. I swear you get prettier ever time I see you, Kagome. I mean, Mrs. Higurashi, you're going be getting some fine competition if your daughter gets any lovelier."

                "Oh, Miroku," Mama laughed, smacking him playfully on the arm.

                Sango snorted as she rolled her eyes, but obviously used to the routine. She crossed her arms for a moment before she arched an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is that your dog, Kagome?"

                Kagome looked to the foot of the stairs where Inuyasha stood, eyeing the pair of newcomers in his house carefully. "Yeah, this is Inuyasha." She reached over and scratched his ears. "This is Sango and that's Miroku. They're my friends, so don't get all weirded-out."

                The canine watched them for a moment more before snorting. _"Whatever."_

                Miroku kind of smirked at his action. "Seems your dog has dismissed us." He hunkered until he was eyelevel with Kagome's pet.

                Inuyasha locked gazes with Miroku. He was giving the canine a penetrating stare, one that left him wondering when Miroku patted him on the neck and straightened up.

                "He's really gorgeous, Kagome," Sango said, scratching Inuyasha's back a little.

                "Yeah, but he's also a handful."

                Said animal gave a doggy smirk to his mistress.

                "Well, how about we get shopping?" the older girl queried.

                "Sounds good."

                Miroku gave an askance look to Inuyasha, before turning to the girls and suggesting, "It's a beautiful day out. How about we walk around town?"

                "Miroku," Kagome began, linking arms with him and then with Sango, "that sounds like a wonderful idea."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                "Oh, wow, Sango, that dress would look so nice on you!" Kagome exclaimed. The group had reached the shopping arcade and was currently window-shopping. Aforementioned dress was a modest black number clothed the mannequin in the display.

                "I must agree." Miroku nodded his head. "It would flatter your form well."

                Sango tutted prior to hauling the snickering duo to another shop half a block away. "You know, Kagome, he," she promptly poked the boy accompanying them, "was in Tokyo last month."

                "Oh, really?" she drawled, deciding to help tag-team the male instead. "You get some time off from college and don't let me know. I'm hurt, Miroku."

                He shook his head, his dragon tail waving to and fro. He held up his hands in defense. "As I told Sango, I was only doing a task for my employer and doing a little studying while I was here. It wasn't a fun visit. I did not want to intrude upon either of you, or my psychology paper."

                "Speaking of which, how is your job going?"

                Miroku's eyes widened a tad in surprise at the inquiry, yet the cool expression he wore only wavered into a content grin. "Quite well, actually. It's a blessing from Buddha," he added, almost cynically. He reached down into his khaki slacks pocket, pulling out a few bills. "How about some hot chocolate? My treat." To that, neither of the shivering girls could say no. 

                They eventually wandered their way to a large department store where they found the solutions to their gift-giving problems. While Kagome picked out a new sweater and some earrings for Mama and a couple knickknacks for Gramps (or in his case, anything that looked antique or mystical). Miroku horsed around with the toys, chasing Sango around with an open can of silly string. The very cross sales associate advised he pay for it; Miroku only agreed that he would do so, though he never did say when...

                Wading through video games and other playthings, presents for Souta and Sango's younger brother Kohaku were purchased along with the rest of the loot, but the shrine-girl kept thinking she was missing a gift for someone.

                Later, the trio crammed into a photo booth to have a group shot taken—Kagome pulled a piece of pink silly string from her gal pal's hair. They posed in stupid positions that you can only seem to execute without embarrassment in front of your friends, but eventually took a normal picture, complete with smiles.

                "Hey, I saw something a bit further back," Kagome said, sliding carefully out and stepping over the bags that littered the ground immediate to the booth. "Wait for me here, I'll be right back." She disappeared for a few minutes, before returning with a large plastic sack in tow. A few pictures came out from the slat, so the girl waited, giggling quietly at the ridiculous faces her best friends were making within the confines of the private cubicle.

                Then, out came a picture of Sango and Miroku sharing a soft, little smooch.

                She gaped for a second, hearing only the merry Christmas tunes playing in the background. Kagome quickly ripped the strip off and stuffed it into her jacket pocket. Oh, the fun she could have with these…

                Clearing her throat, Kagome piped, "I'm back, guys." She simply grinned as Sango and Miroku emerged, avoiding direct eye contact with her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Kagome and Sango had made Miroku carry a majority of the bags back. It had been a nice outing with her friends, but Kagome had to admit her feet were awful sore from trotting around for four hours. She kicked off her sneakers and padded upstairs to hide her presents at the furthest part of her closet. She sighed as she picked up a few more books that had been left lying open on the floor.

                She ambled downstairs, hanging her jacket on a peg before wandering into the kitchen.

                Souta was laughing loudly as he kicked his soccer ball to Inuyasha. The dog pounced on it and knocked it back with his snout and jockeyed from side to side while the child tried to score on him. Kagome smiled contentedly as Inuyasha barked when Souta scored on him; Inuyasha pounced on the boy instead and playfully nosed his shirt with his wet nose.

                _Inuyasha really has become part of this family. _Kagome leaned against the doorjamb. _It's like he's been here with me all along._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sorry! I just had to re-write some of this! Basically, I also didn't have my computer, and I can't seem to work very well without _my _computer. Anyway, I am so pleased with the turn out. I finally got around to fixing that mistake with the money, and I am totally thrilled with the reviews. Keep 'em coming!

By the way, yours truly tied for 1st place for Best Song Fic and 3-way tied for 3rd place for Best Drama by the Inuyasha Fanguild. Right now, SH is up for a couple of things, (Best IY/Kag, Best Humor, and Best AU) and "Seeds, Soil, Water, and a Hanyou" is up for best one-shot. So, I'm fairly happy! Back to no internet, so I'll post from either my friend Erin's house, or from the local library. Sorry, but maybe I'll post more than one chapter at a time. Just be sure to review each one.

Finals are over, summer has begun, so let the madness (and the coming of my 17th birthday) begin!

Moonlight Shadow


	14. Christmas Memories

_Chapter Fourteen: __Christmas Memories_

                The school bell let out a shrill ring, and Kagome practically leapt out of her desk in glorious rapture quarter past ten AM. She had made it through finals. For a week of sheer hell, she'd studied and studied till she thought her eyes would shrivel up, and the fun of test taking would last for three days with two to three subjects each day. While she had sat during her Trigonometry final, all that nibbling Kagome had done on the eraser of her pencil while filling in her study guide came flying back, answers and all. 

                Now she was free to enjoy her winter break.

                Sango had exempted from her last final (Kagome had exempted from her first period final which had been literature) and had said she and Miroku were going to spend some time together this holiday season. Kagome had only smiled, having not forgotten the little tryst in the photo booth only two weeks earlier. Right now, she was ready to finish arranging the house for Christmas.

                Kagome caught the bullet train home, declining Kouga's invitation of walking her home. To be honest, she was not in the mood to freeze in the whipping snow outside. When she arrived, Mama had begun to string popcorn while Souta and Grampa tried to _eat_ it instead.

                Inuyasha padded downstairs, his tail swaying back and forth rather happily—regardless the look on his face was trying to say otherwise. He lay before her feet when she found her seat on the couch next to Mom, untangling the popcorn string as it steadily grew longer.

                "Isn't this a lovely way to start the holidays?" Mama asked with a smile, threading her needle through a corn puff.

                Kagome nodded, holding out a piece to her dog. "You bet. I love the magic Christmas always brings. And with semester exams finally over, I can enjoy it instead of memorizing equations. Ah, winter vacation is a wonderful thing." She giggled as Inuyasha's warm tongue slipped the offering from her fingers into his mouth.

                _"Good. Now, you won't stay up so late and make me lose sleep with you."_

_                "Like anything bothers you when you sleep,"_ Buyo joked from the cushion behind Mrs. Higurashi's head.

                "You sleep like a log, Inuyasha, so I don't think you should complain any," laughed his mistress.

                _"Keh."_

_                "Oh, yeah," _Buyo shot the dog a yellow-eyed glare, _"thanks for the flea." _He scratched the side of his neck with one of his hind feet.

                Inuyasha grinned in return. _"Hey, it was your Christmas present."_

                Buyo flicked his tail once before flopping to his other side, showing the dog his rear.

                "Kagome," Grampa began, stealing some more popcorn from the bowl in Mama's lap, "why don't you get the rest of the decorations from my room?"

                "Sure. Want to help me, Souta?"

                Her younger brother bobbled his head.

Together, the Higurashi siblings made their way to Grampa's room. Various collectable, 'enchanted' items littered the edges of the chamber. It reminded Kagome of some antique shop with some creepy curator that seemed to teleport right behind you as you searched along.

Souta asked, wrinkling his nose at a bottle of some kind of olden day hair tonic, "Is it just me, or is the stuff in Grampa's room even weirder and older than he is?"

"Probably," his sister replied, digging behind a box of key chains. "Aha! Found 'em." Kagome ran a finger over the packaging tape that kept the battered cardboard lid of the box in place. Many fond memories took precedence above any of the girl's other musings as she maneuvered it around the container of key chains. She and Souta carried the heavy rectangular carton to the front room.

Mama smiled. "Thank you." She took the needle and slit the tape open, after puncturing it a few times first.

Curiously, Inuyasha sat up to peek at the decorations that spilt from the sides of the container. There was some gold garland, brightly colored bulbs, a knot of lights, and an assortment of homemade ornaments.

"Oh, remember this…?" cooed Mama, pulling out a macaroni flower. "Kagome made this when she was in preschool."

The girl, also digging in grinned softly. "Hey, it's Souta's glue ball that he painted like a giant cookie." Kagome dangled the globule from the loop of pipe cleaner jammed in it. "Still trying to catch him?" She simpered as he stole it from her hands.

He clutched it close to his chest. "I still think Santa might fall for it this year, Miss Smarty Pants." Souta stuck his tongue out at her.

She rolled her eyes. "R_ight_."

Gingerly, one by one, trinkets were pulled out. Inuyasha knew they held deep sentimental value by the way everyone 'ooh'ed and 'ah'ed, chattering in soft voices about happenings past.

He supposed it made sense to hold onto things that only a family could really cherish and know what it looked like, but for Inuyasha, he'd didn't really remember Christmas with his family very well. His folks had died when he little, and he didn't have any fond childhood memories to reflect back on like Kagome and Souta. He had been too small to remember as much about his mom and dad as the said pair did.

For the most part, he had spent Christmas either in some kind of shelter, in an alleyway, or bitterly pleasant ones with Kikyou. They did have a sedate celebration, yet it still was not the same. He wasn't all that versed with Christmas customs either.

While the Higurashis continued to remove their ornaments, Inuyasha was able to make sense of it but he longed to be sitting beside Kagome like a normal humanoid being rather than the negligible cur he had been cursed to be since the moment he was conceived.

A knock pounded from the front doors, and the canine smelled pine.

Mama set the bowl to the side and headed for the door. "That must be the men bringing the tree."

Sure enough it was a couple of high school boys who hauled the evergreen in. They were even kind enough to place it in its stand. The pair had accepted Mrs. Higurashi's Styrofoam cups filled with hot cocoa and payment eagerly, wishing the shrine family well. No doubt that they had labored quite a bit to bring the seven foot high tree up all the temple steps.

Inuyasha would have growled at them for checking out his mistress, regardless they were not lewd looks, but he was trying to help Kagome untangle the lights.

"Back up a little more, boy," she said, taking one end and weaving it through the ball. "Ok, a bit more."

He was careful to not bust any of the bulbs in his mouth as they coaxed the strings apart. It took them about fifteen minutes to get the strings all undone, while the rest of the family in the meantime had strung garland and the popcorn string around the evergreen. The dog admired their handiwork as Kagome and Souta chased each other around the tree, winding the lights around it like ribbons around a Maypole.

Lying down, his heart feeling a bit more content, Inuyasha watched Gramps and Mama carefully hook glass balls and the homemade ornaments on the boughs. He tipped his head to a side in question as Mrs. Higurashi sighed, touching an ornament carved out of wood before pulling out four others ones like it.

_"That's Mr. Higurashi's,"_ supplied Buyo, reading Inuyasha's mind. _"He passed away when Kagome was about eight. He'd had a brain tumor. He passed away on Christmas Eve. Everyone gets a little choked up." _The cat gave a little sniffle himself. _"He was a very good man and it was a shame to see him go. I was only a kitten then, but I was old enough to remember that he put the star on top every year, and those ornaments Mama has he made while he was in the hospital."_

_"Oh," _was all Inuyasha could say, watching as Kagome lifted Souta so he could hang a candy cane near the top of the tree.

"Hey, Sis, can we take Inuyasha for a walk, please?" Souta begged as his sister set him on the ground.

She looked to her mother. "Can we?"

Mama laughed gently behind her hand. "Sure. While you're out, why don't you walk those Christmas cards to the mailbox on the corner?"

"No problem. Come on, Inuyasha," she smiled, "let's go for a walk."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                The wind was much more relenting than the previous days, but the snow sent off a blinding glare that made all three squint their eyes. Even so, the fun they were having didn't damper. Kagome and Souta continued to make snowballs to lob at each other while they were in wide stone courtyard, the greeting cards tucked safely away in the girl's inner pocket.

Inuyasha was free of his leash and allowed to play along. A few times he knocked his mistress back into a particularly high drift, barking at her distress as she hollered that he was a creature that thrived on sadism.

                Eventually, they crossed the stairs and got to the sidewalk. Their trip to the mailbox was filled with danger and treacherous foes, or so Kagome and Souta liked to say as they wove an elaborate tale together. Inuyasha only sniggered, but took his role as the duo's fearsome demon dog very seriously.

                "Souta…" Kagome rasped, dramatically whipping out the cards from her pocket as they neared the letterbox. "You have to…place the magic seals into…the giant slat."

                "No, Kagome!" the boy feigned crying before accepting the 'magic seals' and dropping them through the slat.

                _"No, Kagome, don't die on us,"_ Inuyasha barked, standing on his hind legs to place his forepaws on her stomach and whimper mournfully at her.

                Smiling, Kagome ruffled her brother's hair and slipped an arm affectionately around his shoulders as they headed back to the house.

                Inuyasha shook the flurries from his fur once they re-entered the house. He trotted inside, his body hungrily absorbing the heat from the air. The siblings followed soon after, with their wet shoes tucked off to the side.

The tantalizing smells of lunch grabbed hold of the three triumphant 'heroes', and they bumbled their way to the kitchen. Mama had left a pot of soup on the stove and some grilled cheese in the microwave. The human pair snatched their food and sat down at the kitchen table to indulge.

                "Don't stand too close to me, Sis," Souta said, lifting a spoonful of tomato soup to his lips.

                "How's that?"

                He pointed upward. "Mom and Gramps put up mistletoe again. I don't wanna get stuck with you."

                "Don't be such an annoying, little twerp, Souta." Kagome rolled her eyes again, crunching some butter crackers into her own bowl.

                After a bit, Souta sped off to go play video games in the den again, and left his sister with the task of cleaning up after him.

                Kagome hummed away her annoyance as she washed the dishes in the kitchen sink. "Come here, Inuyasha."

                Obediently, the unsuspecting canine left his spot near the fridge and toddled the six feet to her. _"What?"_

                She took a handful of soap bubbles and wiped them on his snout; he snorted and pawed at his nose while she giggled.

                _"You evil wench!"_

                "I'm just playing with you, boy," she laughed, enjoying the disgruntled face he made. She rinsed off a final dish and set it in the rack to dry. Kagome wiped her hands off on a dishtowel and headed for the door with her aggravated dog at her heels. She knew he had ideas of doggy revenge—she could tell by the glint in his eyes. Glimpsing up to the top of the threshold, Kagome stopped.

                Smiling, "We're beneath the mistletoe, boy."

                Inuyasha blinked at her. _"So?"_

                Kagome knelt down and kissed him on the tip of his wet nose. "Merry Christmas, Inuyasha."

                He blinked double time at her, feeling extremely hot in the face. _"Yeah…you too."_ He stared into her cheerful, cobalt orbs as she stopped to scratch his head fondly. Then, he tentatively gave her a small lick on the cheek.

                She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him. She sighed happily into his silky fur, "I love you, Inuyasha."

                Albeit he knew she meant as her pet…why did it still make his heart thump a little faster?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Kagome ripped off strip after strip of wrapping paper--so far, so good.

For Souta, she had managed to find him a new fighting game for his PlayStation and had already covered it with wreath-bedecked paper. Gramps was going to get some warding incense and a fancy new burner. A silver locket for Mama with pictures of her and Souta, to replace the one she had lost on their trip to Kyoto two summers ago.

She had just finished wrapping Inuyasha's large present, and she smiled at the idea of getting to watch her dog mutilate the paper come Christmas morning—only three days away. After break, she and Sango would exchange gifts, so the merry sentiment would start off the new semester.

In the meantime, Kagome cleaned up all the spare trimmings and trappings and tossed them into her wastebasket. "It's nice and quiet right now." She peeked outside. The sky was starting to get dusky, but the silhouette of her little brother and dog making a snowman in the grove was still visible.

Gathering up the bright colored packages, tied up with ribbons and bows, Kagome made her way downstairs--sprigs of holly, long vines, and white lights wove around the banister.

It took her two trips, but she managed to get all of her gifts placed under the tree. The living room seemed to sparkle from all the beautiful decorations she and Mama had so painstakingly placed. Four days since the beginning of winter holiday, Kagome had helped her mother spread Christmas cheer to every nook and cranny of their little shrine-house.

                Some unlit candles sat strategically around the room, and Kagome couldn't wait until Christmas Eve to light them like the family did every year. Four stockings were tacked up on the wall, waiting to be filled with gifts from 'Santa Claus'. Even after all these years, Kagome smiled to herself when she remembered how she caught her dad filling them when she was only seven, a year before he died...

                _Kagome crept down the steps as quietly as she could. She heard someone sneaking around the family room, and she knew instantly it had to be Santa. She wasn't supposed to see him putting the presents for her and her one-year-old brother beneath the tree, or shoving trinkets in their Christmas socks, but she couldn't help herself. She had waited all year for this moment, and it was going to come down to this. _

_                A plate of soft chocolate chip cookies in one hand and a tall glass of milk in the other, little Kagome reached the landing and made her way to the man clad in red. She was so nervous. She remembered Daddy telling her that Santa Claus knows if you've been bad or good, so she had been an extra good girl this year by being a good big sister to Souta. She wondered if what she was doing was going to make him think she was naughty._

_                "Santa…?" young Kagome asked quietly, tiptoeing over to him. "I…I brought you some cookies. Mommy says their your favoritest."_

_                Slowly, Saint Nick turned, grinning behind his snowy white beard. "Why yes, Kagome," he chuckled in a very deep voice. "Chocolate chip is my favorite kind." He took a cookie from her and winked. "Now you better get off to bed before—"_

_                Kagome's eyes widened as the beard came lose. "Daddy?"_

_                "Er, uh, no…" he spluttered. _

_                She gave him her fiercest 'Mommy look' she could muster. "What are **you** doing up, Daddy?"_

_                "W-well…." Her father had sweated a bit, and Kagome knew now how much he didn't want to break her heart by telling her Santa didn't exist. So instead… "Santa got very busy this year—you see, Kags, Comet got something in his hoof and Santa's got to get it out. So, he asked me to put all of our gifts in here for him. Guess you caught me, huh, Kagome? Well, he let me borrow his suit, too, but I have to return it pretty soon. You should head back up to bed though, sweetie, so I can get undressed."_

_                She nodded. "An' I get to open ALL my presents tomorrow?"_

_                Daddy laughed. "Of course, Kags, of course."_

                That was nearly eight years ago. Dad had been the only one to call her 'Kags'. Everyone just either called her 'Kagome' or 'Higurashi'.

                Or 'the chick that lives in a shrine'.

                _I visited the altar in Mama's room, Daddy,_ Kagome thought, sitting on the sofa, watching as the dim room dappled in the multicolored Christmas tree lights, winking off and on. _I miss you a lot. Too bad Souta doesn't remember you so well, but he has me tell him stories a lot. I think he feels left out. Our dog is pretty funny, and he's a great companion for all of us. You would've liked him, Dad. You always did like dogs. I'm really confused though, right now. _

The girl twirled a lock of hair around her finger, settling into the cushions. _A month ago, someone tried to break into the mini-shrine, and I'm scared there's someone really bad after Tetsusaiga. A really nice security system was installed, and I have ofuda and other wards on it, but I'm still really worried. _

_                I wish you were here, Daddy._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Inuyasha wondered where the Higurashis were taking him. It was Christmas Eve, though still morning, and all the shopping had been done, the food prepared, but here they were readying to leave. However, when he saw the black clothing and reverent looks on their faces, he figured out where they were heading.

                Kagome had begged for him to come along with them, that she really needed him there, and Mama had eventually agreed. The leather band around his neck was already black, so he was dressed for the occasion, cynically enough. The girl was currently clipping the chain link leash to his collar, her face extremely somber with tears brimming her stormy eyes. It bothered him to see her like that so he put a paw on her shoulder and offered her pleading look and gentle nuzzle to her cheek.

                She grimaced before standing up, the moderate charcoal skirt swinging just below her knees. Following after Mama and Grampa, they walked abreast to Souta, who played nervously with the cuff of his blazer.

                Thankfully for the family, the city was lacking its normal, boisterous nature today. Their footsteps shuffled the snow across the stone as they marched down the shrine steps and started for the cemetery.

Everyone kept mum, Inuyasha included. Though he never knew Mr. Higurashi, he could tell that he must've been a great person—the family he left behind was wonderful. He thought it only fair to be as observant as the people who had adopted him.

                The lead was drawn up tighter to Kagome, and Inuyasha was moved closer to her side. A single, chilled teardrop pattered against the side of his snout.

                Passing between the open double gates, the Higurashi family followed the worn, cobblestone walk until they came to a dormant sakura tree. Tall headstones ringed around it, like diminutive vassals to their lord and higher power. The group approached the grave nearest the base of the cherry blossom tree.

                Grampa respectfully took some incense from the inside of his suit's pocket—probably the only suit he owned, as he usually only wore the priest's garb—and a lighter. With a flick of his weathered fingers, he clicked it on and touched the tip of one stick of incense into the fire before doing so with another. Holding both in one hand, he stowed the lighter again and set the two sticks into the holders set directly on the slab that jutted from the front of the tombstone, bowing as he did so.

                Mama held a bundle of Japanese violets and passed them off to Souta.

                The little boy blinked confusedly at her. "M-me?" he whispered. Mama nodded at him. Souta swallowed once before shakily bowing and setting the cloth-tied bundle between the smoking rods. He quickly backed away and tucked himself against his sister; she simply draped an arm across his chest and hugged him close.

                Turning to her, Grampa inclined his head to the grave.

                Kagome handed the leash to Souta and stepped around him and her dog. Inuyasha observed quietly as she made a deep bow, obsidian waves crashing over her pale face, sweeping back as the wind teased it enough to reveal rosy cheeks and sparkling blue-grey eyes. Then she lowered herself to her knees, pressed her palms together, and said a silent prayer that touched the entire company's hearts and while it remained unspoken, it rang true in each of their minds with words each would have expressed.

                Inuyasha felt Souta grip the leash even tighter than his sister had. He glanced up to see the little boy sniffling inaudibly.

                "I wanted to know you, Dad…" he heard Souta whisper to himself over trembling lips, chapped and burned. The boy's shoulders quavered slightly, head lolled onto his chest. Inuyasha half-expected it when the child wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his nose into the long fur there.

                Inuyasha whimpered lightly, gold eyes darting around the lone scene. Not another living soul stood with them in the alabaster-powdered necropolis, a small city of the dead. Elongated curls of indigo smoke disappeared into the bare boughs of the sakura tree as Kagome prayed and some celestial radiance, whether it was light or power was not pertinent, bathed the gravesite.

                A tear slid down Mama Higurashi's cheek, but she made no effort to dispel it.

                Gramps face was cast into a mask of true sagely comprehension and sorrow.

                Kagome looked oddly peaceful--somehow also powerful yet delicate, and still Kagome.

                Gently, Inuyasha nosed Souta's shoulder. _"I'm sure your old man would have been happy with all of you. He knew you, Souta, so that should matter to you, kid. …I guess as long as you remember the people you love, they live on…in your heart anyway…._

_                "My parents still do."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Wow…this was not at all what I had planned. Once again, please review each chapter separately. I was just recently quoted in my local newspaper so, pretty cool stuff. I'm babysitting again so, but it's only every-other week. In any case, I hope you liked this and I promise things will pick up again soon. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon and all you'll have to do is press the NEXT arrow.

Moonlight Shadow 

                  
 


	15. Silver and Gold

_Disclaimer: _When have I ever…?

A/N: Well, here we are, about to start chapter fifteen. I'm actually pretty happy, but I hope everyone else is too. Harry Potter movie #3 is out today—or at the time I wrote that.

Ok, quick Q&A:

I got my info about Inu's age from Takahashi; she _never_ said he was 15. What she _did_ say was he had the mentality of a 17-year-old boy, so I went with that.

My pronunciation on Tetsusaiga/Tessaiga was courtesy of the Brandi Bor who used to run Sengoku Jidai, a wonderful Inuyasha site, but closed down a while back. The college student takes Japanese, and explained to me the pronunciation. I had thought the same thing, but, hey, watch the Japanese episodes.

The other about not talking about Inu's predicament: I can't beat it to death. _We _know it's there, but Inuyasha can't dwell on it until his brother tells him more. For the moment, this is all he can really do. Don't worry, we'll get back to it. Just not at the moment. Other things have to be explained.

Looked up 'shined' and 'shone' and it says they are indeed related and are fairly interchangeable.

The thing about Mr. Higurashi was something I fabricated; Takahashi has never mentioned him in her manga, and as far as I know, he has never been mentioned in any of the filler episodes. I haven't seen the movies, but I do not think they make light of him there.

Thank you for noticing the 'summer' thing from the last chapter! My mom and I _both_ missed it! You guys rock! I will try to post all the corrected chapters when I can; I had so much e-mail that I had by the time I was going to, my 1 hour time limit was up!

_Chapter Fifteen: __Silver and Gold_

The Higurashi family had come home quietly, but after some time, everything had reverted to normal.

Mama was in the kitchen making another batch of gingerbread cookies, Grampa was trying to 'bless' the batter—or just trying to sneak a taste, Souta was outside building a fort, while Kagome tidied up the living room.

And Inuyasha was just happy to have everything back the way it was supposed to be.

At the moment, he was lying on the floor watching his mistress restring the tree lights; Buyo had gotten one of his paws stuck and unstrung it. Safe to say Buyo was all right and had scuttled away before Kagome could get her hands on him to strangle him.

Kagome had calmed down considerably, her temper only flared wildly for a bit before it died away. Currently, she was singing "Let It Snow", which pretty accurately described for the weather right now.

The sky was dark, even for quarter past eight at night, and the snow was just careening in heavy falls to the ground. Supposedly it was going to snow several inches. Pity it would all be disrupted by the noisy snowplows and street-sweepers come five in the morning. Boy, was Inuyasha _not _looking forward to that. Wind stridently hissed around the shrine grounds, slightly rattling the frosted windows.

"While the weather outside is frightful, the fire is so delightful," Kagome sang, bobbing her head to the tempo of the song, "and since we've no place to go—let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" She stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Not bad. Hopefully Buyo won't Sumo flop it again, huh, Inuyasha?"

_"I think a diet would be good for him. One piece of food every meal sounds like a good idea."_ Inuyasha thumped his tail on the floor cockily.

The girl shook her head. "Don't be unkind. Surely you were raised better than that."

_"Is this a trick question?"_

Laughing, Kagome plugged the middle string of lights back in. They winked to life once more, and the teenager sat on the sofa. She grabbed the mug of cocoa that Mama had brought out a few minutes ago and brought it to her lips. It tasted sweet like always, with a touch of cinnamon, marshmallows _and_ whipped cream—exactly the way she liked it.

She licked a swirl of whipped cream from her top lip. "Mm… Mom makes _the_ best hot chocolate ever, boy. Too bad you can't eat anything but carob or I'd give you some."

_"Oh, please, torture me a little more, Kagome. I simply love the pain," _he sarcastically retorted, coming up and tugging on her sock, careful not too take too much into his mouth—he really didn't want to taste foot ala mode.

Kagome giggled loudly, trying to kick him off and not slosh warm cocoa on herself. "Quit! Bad dog!"

"What's all the fuss in here?" Mama asked, stepping into the living room with a plateful of gingerbread men. Grampa toddled after her with different colored tubes of icing and candies.

"Inuyasha," she involuntarily shrieked, "is trying to get my sock off and it tickles."

"Looks like he just wants to play." Mama set the plate on the coffee table in the middle of the room. "There, now we just have to wait for Souta. I called him in, so we should be able to start soon."

A loud slam came from the kitchen. A few more noisy moments, and Souta eventually entered the front room, carrying his wet coat over an arm. "It's really cold," he chattered, hanging his coat and scarf up to dry on the rack.

"Souta," Mama bustled over, "your nose and the tips of your ears are crimson! You probably got wind-burn again. I'll get you some hot cocoa, too. Go grab one of the throws and warm up."

He nodded and snagged a throw-blanket from the sofa. Plopping beside Inuyasha—who had since stopped his persecution of Kagome--, Souta tented himself beneath the coverlet so only his head peeked over.

After a bit, Mama returned, and, with a kiss on the forehead and sweeping back of his bangs, presented her son with a steaming cup of the promised drink. Upon the table she laid a stack of paper plates.

"Thanks, Mom," he said, swallowing a mouthful of loving warmth.

She smiled. "Now that you're here, Souta, we can let light the candles. Kagome, would you like to light them?"

Kagome blinked in surprise, placing her empty mug on the end table. "Me? Sure, if you want, Mom." The girl slipped from her comfy spot on the sofa and took the old lighter from Grampa—one that he had continued to refill with butane since he was nineteen-years-old, and the same he had used to light the incense at the gravesite earlier—and lit the first candle. The taper's wick flickered to life.

Setting the lighter on the coffee table, Kagome took the candle and lit all the others that ringed around the room. Flame by flame, as Grampa dimmed the overhead light, the luminosity from the tapers bequeathed soft glows. The alternating multicolored bulbs on the tree also added a sort of gentleness. Odd sparkles from the silent radiance reflecting off the garland mottled about the air as well.

"Wonderful, Kagome," Grampa chirped as his granddaughter took her spot back, resting her feet atop Inuyasha's side.

She bowed her head. "Thanks, Gramps."

"Can we start decorating the cookies now, Mom?" asked Souta, leaning forward hungrily.

"Of course. Oh, and I have one just for you, Inuyasha," piped Mama, digging out from the bottom of the plate a dog-shaped gingerbread cookie. She held out to his muzzle with a smile. "Here you go."

Inuyasha stared at it for a minute. _"Is that really for me…?"_ he inquired, sliding away as Kagome's footrest.

"Come on, boy, take it," coaxed his mistress.

Head lowered slightly, Inuyasha cautiously moved his snout forward enough to take hold of the specially made cookie. Creeping back, he laid down to eat.

"I think he likes it, Mama." Kagome smiled, taking one of the holly berry patterned paper plates. "Let's decorate ours!"

For the next hour or so, as the frightful weather dredged on, the Higurashi family took solace in the warmth the heater produced. Gumdrops for buttons, icing for trim, licorice for hair, and other candies were iced onto the gingerbread men. It was a colorful array of food, and there was no mess to speak of—all anyone had to do was lick their fingers off.

"Why don't we tell stories?" suggested Souta, coating a piece of strawberry licorice with some icing.

"Sounds good to me!" Kagome agreed. "Right, Inuyasha?"

_"Sure, whatever. As long as it has some fighting in it, I'm good."_

The girl shook her head. "I want something romantic."

Souta stuck his tongue out distastefully. "Ugh, girly stuff. Fighting!"

"Whatever, you dork, it's Christmas."

Mama laughed into her hand. "Do you have a suggestion, Grandpa?"

The old man looked up from his handful of gumdrops and thought. It was a dark expression, one of debating and doubting, a decisive one.

Kagome and Souta sighed (so did Inuyasha); they figured Gramps was going to launch into some long, fabled story with no point at all…

"During the war," Grampa began slowly, wracking his brain for the proper way to put his memories into words, "I was a mechanic. A plane mechanic, to be exact." He nodded once, rising to his joint-popping legs and hobbling over to his favorite blue armchair. Sitting down with a long exhale, he continued. "We didn't always have pilots going on suicide missions, though those are the most memorable. Well, anyway, we had a mighty training crew. One of my closest friends there was a dog-demon named Inutaisho."

Inuyasha's ears perked up, and listened intently to Gramps.

"He was a pilot, and an excellent one at that. He was an honorable man, a real war dog from the first war. I was only a kid then, eighteen or so, and he was well older than I, but he took really good care of me. His wife Setsuna was as sweet and beautiful as they come. I think she was a mystic or something like that. I met their son once--boy was probably only about two or three--during a dinner." Grampa paused for a second, looking to his granddaughter. "That boy would be your fiancé, Kagome."

She nodded. "Yes, Gramps."

"Well—ahem—anyway, I don't recall his name, sadly, the war really has rattled some of my memories around, all the violence and such, but I remember he was an adorable kid. A troublemaker, but he was loveable." He popped a couple of candies into his mouth.

_I don't remember that…_ Inuyasha thought, staring from the old man to his unwitting fiancée. _I don't remember being that…innocent…_

Gramps shook his noggin, rather scratching his scalp pensively. "I remember that boy was always asking his folks questions about everything—how they met, how planes worked, where babies come from." He chuckled. "But, the point of me even telling you this, besides you wanting to hear about something, Souta," the boy promptly bobbled his cranium once, "was to tell you about the day I was given Tetsusaiga.

"I'm sure you've wanted to know. You all think I've gone completely senile, but in my mind, I'm still a young mechanic, born into a dinky shrine family, not even really an adult yet, and it's only when I look in the mirror that I remember what I am.

"I'm now an old man with a beautiful daughter-in-law, and two sprightly grandchildren."

The group didn't make a sound, just pondered on the elder Higurashi's words.

Clearing his throat, Gramps went on. "I was injured, laid-up in a small clinic in Ninohe—I'd been shot in the leg by 'friendly-fire', gods damn 'em morons, I say—and Inutaisho came up to me. He was going to escort his family to Chōshi from Tokyo and he was going to report to General Izumi. He gave me Tetsusaiga, telling me it was extremely important I hold onto it. His wife had told him she foresaw death in both their futures, and that I was to be of some help, somehow.

"What Setsuna told him was that the sword would be given to my first born granddaughter, and that their son was to marry her—Tetsusaiga would be the validity of our claim, and the boy's rightful dowry. Being that he would be half-demon, he wouldn't age as fast as I would. He'd probably still be in his prime, I suppose, but that's not the point. All else I know is that she would be well-suited to him and whatever would come. Inutaisho said Setsuna had collapsed after that; she'd fainted, but said she was not able to stretch past the limits of it. Her powers, I mean.

"I often wonder if she was able to push those psychic boundaries and find out more." Gramps shrugged. "But, I'm not too sure. My place is here at the shrine as its head priest, not a psychic, or 'gifted one'."

_I never knew any of that…_ Kagome contemplated, rubbing her toes over Inuyasha's coat again. _It answers a few questions, but I still want to know more… I'm not quite satisfied._

Inuyasha blinked his eyes slowly. His musings were not much different from Kagome's.

"I found out a few weeks later he'd been killed, his wife as well, still preserved though by their combined magic. Their son was nowhere to be found. If I remember that boy as well as I do, he's probably still out there somewhere, and whether he knows to come to the shrine or not is a mystery in and of itself." Stretching, Gramps worked his way out of the chair. "It's ten o'clock at night, a bit late for this old man. Think I'll go and catch some shut eye."

"Well, open a present first, Grandpa," Mama pleaded. The look in her eyes revealed her yearning for the father of her deceased husband to stay for a bit longer. "I'm sure the kids would want you to."

Souta and Kagome nodded vigorously. "Please?" the pair begged.

Chuckling softly, the old man agreed. "You decide which one to give me."

"Open mine, please, Grampa!" begged Souta, digging out a lopsidedly wrapped package.

He accepted it, and it turned out to be a book of medicinal herbs and their uses. "Ah-hah! Something useful. Thank you, Souta, this will be excellent. Now you have to open one."

"Ok." Souta scoured amongst the presents. "Hey, this one's from Mom." His eyes lit up as he clawed through the paper. "A multi-tap for my PlayStation! Thanks, Mom! You open a present."

Mama laughed. "I'm glad you liked it. Now, what to open. They all look so nice."

"Mom! Worry less about the wrapping paper and more about the gift!"

"How about…this one? It's from you sister." Mama peeled away the chuckling Santa paper and her eyes coated with tears. "Oh, Kagome…" she whispered, extracting the locket on its fine silver chain. "It's beautiful."

"Look inside, Mom," the girl suggested.

The woman opened the face of it and the tears softly ran down her cheeks. "Oh, sweetheart…thank you so much. Come here." She spread her arms wide, and her children scrambled into the orifice and hugged her tight. "I love you both so much."

The siblings expressed their love as well, before Kagome was allowed to pick out a present. "This one's from Grampa." She rattled it gently. _It doesn't _sound_ like anything funny…_ "Cool! A new set of leather gloves."

"Real Italian leather, my dear," Gramps beamed proudly.

Kagome bopped up and embraced him. "Thank you, Grandpa."

_Glad they're happy,_ Inuyasha thought, seeing the dozing Buyo, curled up with the catnip mouse he'd dug out days before.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, dragging over a large rectangular package, "rip the paper off boy."

He looked to her. _"For me? Really? …Thanks…"_ Taking a paw, he used his unnaturally sharp dog-claws to shred the wrapping paper away. A large dog bed was spread out. He laid down, and had to admit it was pretty comfortable. The foam was cushy and the cloth covering still new smelled.

And it was all his.

"I think he likes it," Mama chirped happily, leaning over and rubbing his side. "But I do have to agree with Grandpa, it is getting pretty late. I think we should all call it a night. You don't want Santa to skip our house, do you, Souta?"

The boy waggled his head. "Uh-uh."

Kagome helped Mama pick up all the paper before blowing all the candles out and starting for the stairs. "Coming, Inuyasha?"

With a doglike nod, he trotted after her to bed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas morning was busy but enjoyable. Everyone had risen a little later than usual (managing by some miracle to ignore the snow plows and street sweepers), with the exception of the Santa-believing Souta who "proved" to his sister that Saint Nick did exist because there couldn't be presents in their stockings otherwise, and had opened their presents in quite a happy flurry of colorful paper, bows, and giggles. No one had been left out, not even Buyo and Inuyasha. (The dog made good use out of his bed as he blissfully watched Kagome squeal gleefully at the presents).

After a breakfast of eggnog, chocolate chip pancakes, and sausage, everyone had hastened into their clothes.

"Let's see," Kagome mused, picking up a soft V-neck, mid-arm sleeved red shirt and a scarlet-and-gold dragon patterned skirt that hung an inch above her knees. She began to change out of her nightclothes, and Inuyasha abashedly turned to stare out at the snow outside. "Hmm…this should work," he heard her mumble behind him.

_"What's everyone getting so gussied up for?" _he asked.

"People like to come by and visit us on Christmas Day, boy, and later we go caroling. Most years we go on Christmas Eve, but the weather was bad last night."

_"Oh, joy…which am I, Kagome: a tenor or a bass?"_

"I'm thinking you'd be a bass," the girl laughed, pulling out a long red ribbon. "Here, I'm going to tie this over your collar. You should look festive too, Inuyasha. Even Buyo has something to wear. I'm letting Souta put something on him this year."

_"You're not going to tie it in a bow or something, are you?"_ He eyed her nervously.

She rolled her eyes, sitting next to him on the bed. "I'm just going to knot it and let it hang down in a loose kind of bow. Not a perky, bowtie looking one. You _are_ a boy dog after all."

_"Just thought we'd clarify that."_

Kagome carefully looped the long ribbon around Inuyasha's scaly collar and knotted it. "There. We all know you're a boy dog—you're just a very Christmas-y, stylish one."

_"Yeah…when you say stuff like that…it scares me."_ Inuyasha glimpsed at the ribbon and saw it hung in two long, even loops. _"Eh, it's not the worst thing I've endured…" _There was no way he going to be caught admitting he kind of liked the idea of getting spruced for the holiday. That was not something (overly) macho guys do. Only (overly) sensitive guys did that sort of thing.

Or maybe because Kagome did it he liked it…

…Shut up.

"Well, boy, let's go downstairs and have some fun." Double checking that everything was in place and that both she and Inuyasha looked good, they descended.

In the living room, a few elderly guy friends of Gramps stood chattering with said old geezer as they approached.

"Ah, is this your little Kagome?" one of the men said, watching as the teenager made her way down. "She's growing to be more beautiful each time I see her. Boys must just chase after her, eh, Yomato?"

Grampa grinned proudly. "My Kagome is twice as smart as she is stunning."

"Gramps!" the girl admonished, red in the face. She bowed slightly. "Thank you for your kind words. Can I get you anything?"

"No, no," a second one waved his hand, "we're fine."

A third one piped up, "My grandson is about your age…"

Inuyasha had to chuckle slightly at Kagome's distress until all the pensioners left. They were either half-deaf, half-blind, or both. And, to top it off, they did have the possibility of being perverted, and while the hanyou-in-a-dog-suit wasn't all that keen on anyone getting near his Kagome, it was still hella funny!

The rest of the day followed in a steady stream, mostly shrine worshippers, friends of Mama's (any of whom that had teenage sons Kagome's age wanted her to date them, always saying "he's simply so sweet and charming…"), or friends from Kagome's school that Inuyasha hadn't met.

Like _those_ girls…

"Oh, he's so _cute_!" Yuka had damn near shrieked in his ear, playing with said appendage rather roughly.

_"And gods you're fucking _loud_!"_

"Are you sure it's a he?" asked Eri, going around to look at his hindquarters.

Inuyasha had scrambled away and found sanctuary behind Kagome's legs, his tail zipping between his own legs. _"Yes, I am, and I'm absolutely sure, thank you very much!"_ he snapped tartly. _"That's private property back there!"_

"I think he's quite handsome, Kagome. His coat is shiny and soft to the touch. He looks like pure silk," Ayumi, the only one out of the three Inuyasha could stand, cooed. She obviously knew how to treat a dog.

Kagome grinned. "Yeah. He's a pain-in-the-neck, too, but that's what I like about him." She rubbed his head fondly. "He's got a personality. He's not a doorknob and he's not scared of his shadow either. He's great with Souta, and he's just all around cool."

Inuyasha puffed his chest out proudly and let out a bark.

After the three hens left, in came a certain red-haired boy that the canine last remembered with a handkerchief pressed over his bleeding nose.

"Hey, Higurashi," said Hojo before holding out a gift to her. "I got you some new house slippers. I hope you like them."

Kagome opened the package and smiled weakly. "Hojo, I'm so sorry. I don't have a present for you. But the slippers look really comfortable. How'd you know blue was my favorite color?"

The boy grinned. "Don't worry about it, Higurashi. The fact that you like them is good enough. And I asked Sango what your favorite color was. Well, I hate to have to leave so soon, but my folks and I are going up to see some friends out in Kawagoe. See ya!"

She waved. "Bye, Hojo. Thank you! I'll get you something as soon as I can."

Inuyasha frowned. _"Why do you need to get that dork something?"_

"He gave me a present. It'd be rude not to give him something in return." Kagome stowed the slippers in the shoe rack. She slipped on her jacket and loafers. "Let's go for a quick walk around the yard, ok?"

For Inuyasha, he couldn't have felt any happier with that idea. All those people touching him and trying to play with him and talking stupid talk to him…there was only so much he could put up with. And, oh gods, the smells! Some of them hadn't quite gotten those funky scents off yet or had bathed in cologne. The crisp, serene air outside was a godsend.

He ducked around a tree to do his business, and felt his chops raise as the wind changed direction and something putrid touched his sensitive nose.

"Hey, Kagome," that oh-so-annoying-to-Inuyasha's-ears-voice smoothly said as the body attached to it came up closer.

Kagome smiled. "Hey, Kouga. Merry Christmas. Are you going caroling tonight?"

The wolf-demon shrugged. "I wasn't planning on it, but," he grasped her hands, making Inuyasha growl insanely, "if you wish for me to come, then I will."

"Well, you're welcome to join us, Kouga."

_"What? Are you crazy?!"_ yapped the canine madly. _"You cannot have that scum around you, Kagome! I forbid it! As your fiancé I'm tellin' ya to stop being so fucking nice! Tell him to go somewhere and die!"_

"Quiet, mutt." Kouga waved a hand at him prior to jamming it into his pocket. "Don't think of biting me again." A lanky wolf padded up beside wolf-boy and sat promptly in the snow. "I'll leave you someone to contend with."

Kagome glanced over to Inuyasha. "He's just extremely jealous, Kouga" she defensively stated. "Inuyasha doesn't like guys very much. He's just trying to protect me, so he doesn't like other males too close."

_"Yeah, and this asshole is breaking the rule of a yard of personal space!"_

"Kagome, Kagome…" he laughed, drawing something out of his pocket, making her look upwards. He dangled it above their heads. "I brought us some mistletoe. You wouldn't turn me down a kiss on Christmas, would you, Kagome?" He gave her the most disheartening look.

The girl tipped her head. "No, of course not."

_"WHAT?!"_ Inuyasha made for Kouga's leg, when the wolf blocked his path.

Kagome leaned forward and kissed Kouga on his cheek before pulling away. "Well, Merry Christmas, Kouga. I have to go back inside and help play hostess. I'll see you later. We'll be out caroling later." Waving, she made her way inside.

"Merry Christmas, Kagome. I will try and meet up with you if I can. But don't be upset if I don't make it; remember that you're my woman."

"Huh?" She blinked, but once she turned around, all she saw was a tornado of white and a wolf trailing after. Kagome waggled her head once. "You know, Inuyasha, wolves are too forceful and demanding for me. I like dogs."

Inuyasha smirked. _"Good, 'cause you're stuck with one."_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year…" the Higurashi family drew out. Gramps had to stay home because his arthritis was acting up, and Mama refused to let him out in such a state.

This was the last house on the walk as it was getting a little later and a little nippier. Inuyasha's toes were toasty because of the fur between them, but his ears weren't nearly as lucky. It had been kind of nice to get all the pieces of meat from the people they'd visited, and the looks on the faces of those they sang for. For Inuyasha, this was probably his best-remembered Christmas. (It was even nicer that Buyo had to wear a jingle bell collar and with reindeer antlers on it for the day, while he only had the red ribbon).

"I'm so sleepy," murmured Kagome blearily, a dopey smile on her face as they trudged their way home through the high snow. "I think I could sleep until the beginning of next semester."

Souta nodded. "Uh-huh. I think I'm even too tired to play video games. There were so many people who came by. I'm exhausted."

"So am I, sweetie," Mama agreed, an arm around each of her children. "But, doesn't it make you feel good to have sung for others who might have needed Christmas cheer with your family?"

"Yeah, I guess."

The streetlamps hummed blissfully above them. They had only gone around two blocks this year, but that was only because the new weatherman---the previous one having been fired—had promised more snowfall. With the chilliness right now, none of them doubted this meteorologist's claim. Snow crunched beneath their boots, and ice cracked on the shrine steps as they ascended.

Grampa greeted them at the door and ushered them in. Everyone had slipped out of their Christmas attire and enjoyed some regular, warm pajamas. After a round of hot chocolate and some TV, the entire family shimmied off to bed.

Kagome yawned widely. Smiling lazily at all the lovely gifts she'd received she headed for bed, but stopped halfway and Inuyasha near bumped into her legs. "I almost forgot," she said, turning around to face Inuyasha, "I have to take the ribbon off. Being our luck, one of us might accidentally choke on it."

_"Yeah, and it'd probably be you."_

"You're not being nice, are you?"

_"Sarcasm, Kagome, sarcasm."_

She shrugged and knelt down. With nimble fingers even now, Kagome undid the knot and started to pull the ribbon lose. She tugged it once, and frowned in annoyance. "It's stuck." She peered closer. "Looks like it's hooked on the clip or something…"

_"Eh?"_ Inuyasha suddenly felt his whole body get surrounded by a warm rush, deep in his core.

"I think I need to loosen it here and…" Kagome pushed the collar through the clasp, and pulled the metal prong out of the hole, allowing the scarlet ribbon to flutter to the floor.

The pulsing of energy, cool yet hot, made a whirlwind thru Inuyasha's body and his soul felt like it was expanding, stretching.

"Huh…?" the girl bemusedly queried as flashes of pinkish white light lit up her room up even brighter. "What is that…?" She shielded her eyes with a hand as a huge shockwave of old energy rushed by the girl and the luminosity grew. _I feel a youki…_ she thought as the strange glow dimmed, and the bedroom lights took over. Removing her hand, Kagome gasped.

There sat a boy with dramatic aspects, with tapers of moon-spun-silver hair and bright molten gold eyes with catlike slits for pupils and dog ears atop his head.

And he was completely naked.

Inuyasha stared at her, trying to think of something to say. He managed to slowly grind out, "Whatever you do, Kagome: Don't scream."

Kagome gawked back uncomprehendingly.

"Don't scream," he pleaded again, reaching a hand out to her.

She sucked in a deep breath and opened her mouth wide.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Duh-duh-duh- duh! Alright! Finished this! We've all been looking for this chapter. Was it alright? God, I hope so. So scared. I'm always worried that this is going too fast-paced, but everyone I've asked says no. Anyway, do you think Kag screams?

I can't remember any more questions right now, but I do love how well this is doing. I should be able to go to the library near everyday, so maybe I'll be able to get a chapter out everyday, or every couple of days. I hope. No promises though.

I found out, by the way, that SH got 3rd place for Best AU, and 3rd place for Best Humor. It didn't win best IY/Kag Romance and "Seeds, Soil, Water, and a Hanyou" didn't win anything, but hey, third's not bad.

Moonlight Shadow


	16. Fated

A/N: Happy Birthday, Ducky! Ah…I love my fire proof cloak…ah… I already knew if Kagome screamed or not. I just wanted to see what you guys thought.

_Chapter Sixteen: __Fated_

Inuyasha's keen ears picked up the super-high-pitched sound of the beginning of a shriek. Leaping forward, he clamped his hand over Kagome's mouth and pulled her back into his shoulder. "Listen, Kagome," he hissed into her ear, "I am not going to hurt you. You have to trust me and not scream. All right?"

She shakily nodded, clutching tightly onto the collar in her hand.

"Good," he breathed, releasing her. He promptly jumped to his feet and yanked Kagome's fuzzy pink bathrobe out of her closet, turning his backside to her. Quickly covering himself, he tied the strips of cloth just above his hips; Inuyasha was only worried about the poor girl having to any more of anything below that level. At least from the back it wouldn't be _nearly_ so embarrassing.

"Wh-who are you?" Kagome managed to whisper, getting to her feet. She walked to the bedroom door and quietly pushed it closed, watching him through cautious blue eyes.

The dog-eared boy gradually turned around to face her. "…I'm Inuyasha. Who else?"

Kagome waggled her head, making her obsidian hair fly to and fro. "N-no way. Inuyasha's my _dog—_"

"Demon."

Her jaw opened for a second then promptly snapped shut. "I think I need to sit down." The girl went to her bed and plopped onto the edge of it. She set the collar beside her. "Ok," she ran her fingers through her hair, "so, you're Inuyasha. You used to be my dog."

He cracked his neck then rolled back a stiff shoulder. "Yeah," he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Inuyasha's my real name." The boy looked to Kagome, who stared unblinkingly at him. His mouth went into a slight frown, yet a pensive one. "You're a priestess, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah." She wriggled her hand down and began to interlink her fingers.

"I think because you've got some really unnaturally strong miko powers you understood me—well, part of the time, anyway." Inuyasha leaned against the sliding door of the closet. "That's what Kaede said at least."

"Wait, wait, wait. You mean Ms. Kaede the vet?" Now Kagome's head really started swimming.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"What exactly does she know?"

"Well," Inuyasha leaned upright and walked to the window, tucking his hands in the sleeves of the bathrobe, "I'm not exactly sure _what _she knows. What I can tell you, Kagome, is that she understands animals, so she has to have some form of mystical powers. Unlike you, she's fluent all the time."

Kagome adjusted position so she could look at his profile. It was strikingly familiar to her for some reason. _Taisho…_ Shaking her noggin once to dislodge the remembrance, she asked, "Could you understand what we were saying to you?"

Without even looking away from the world of snow beyond the frosted glass, "All the time. I could see in color, too. I might've been in the body of a dog, but I did still manage to retain my normal consciousness."

The girl was quiet for a moment. A blush crept over her face. "I undressed in front of you!" She reached over and slapped at his elbow, aghast at the idea of him staring at her in such a state.

"Hey," he whirled on her, "I always looked away!" Scarlet colored his visage as well. "I'm not a pervert!"

"That's good to know…" Kagome watched the boy by the window for minute or so, letting the silence of the chamber consume all her cogitations; there was too much to ponder on, too many questions that needed answers. "Inuyasha…" she said quietly, waiting until she had his attention, "how did you…how did you get turned into a dog?"

Honey-rich eyes, ones marred by the sight of iniquity, odium, and discrimination peered ponderingly at her; Kagome was able to see all the somber things reflected there with some kind of foresight she didn't realize she possessed. A smirk slipped unevenly over his lips. "Bring Mama, Gramps, and Souta downstairs and I'll tell you all." He stepped away from the window and padded out of the room.

Kagome watched him disappear, thinking deeply, her musings very jumbled and hard to separate into anything cognizant. _He's a demon, which explains the youki around him all the time, and now I'll know why he was transfigured into a real dog. I have a feeling that he's connected to us in some other way… _

She chewed her lip. _Inutaisho was a dog-demon, and Inuyasha is, too. His youki isn't as strong as a full-blooded demon, which probably means he's a hanyou. What are the odds that he's…The One we've been waiting for?_

There was a dog-demon boy, transformed from her dog, exactly the way she dreamt him, downstairs wearing nothing but her pastel pink robe, with a high chance of being her destined fiancé. Only this sort of thing happened to her family.

Sighing, the girl slid off her bed and made her way to the door. _This is not at all the romantic way I thought we'd meet at all._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long to coax everyone out of their rooms. Mama had wondered what the sound was and Souta had still been playing on one of his handheld game systems. Kagome would get Grampa when they descended.

"What's so important, Kagome?" Mama inquired as her daughter bade her to sit on the sofa with her other child.

"Just…trust me. You won't believe me 'til you see it. I have to go get Grampa." Kagome ambled through the kitchen to the elder Higurashi's room. She rapped gently on the door. "Grampa? Are you awake? It's Kagome."

The door slid away, having been another storage room at one time, and Gramps looked at her thru his spectacles. "I'm up, but what—"

"Just please wait with Mama and Souta in the living room, Grampa," the girl kindly interrupted.

Making no protests, trusting in his granddaughter's words, the old man toddled off.

"Thanks, Kagome," said Inuyasha from behind her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. "Don't scare me like that!"

The boy chuckled, shutting the storeroom slider. "Forgot you're such a spaz."

"What? I am not," she sulked, glaring. She waggled a finger at him. "This is exactly the way imagined you would be like if I could understand you. Be nicer, would you?"

He flashed an arrogant smirk at her. "Keh." Inuyasha crossed his arms, now clad in a white, billow-sleeved shirt and black riding pants.

Kagome quirked an eyebrow at his ensemble. "You look like a matador."

"Thanks, I thought so, too," he satirically countered. "Come on, girl, and I'll explain everything." He sighed deeply, the cocky smile fading. "You all have a right to know everything I know."

She watched as he started to step around her to go into the living room. Kagome grabbed hold of his sleeve. He glanced bemusedly at her, making a soft noise of wonder as she walked in stride with him. "I'm sure we'll work everything out, Inuyasha." She smiled assuredly at him, cupping her palm over his upper arm. "So, don't look so glum, okay?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything they promenaded into the chamber where the rest of the family waited, joining the ranks of the confused.

Needless to say, everyone gasped.

Clearing his throat as he strode forward with Kagome still holding onto his arm, which eased him a bit, Inuyasha began, "Uh, hey…Mama, Gramps, Souta…"

Buyo swaggered tiredly into the room and stopped mid-waddle to gape at the dog-demon, not saying a word, as was the rest of the Higurashis.

"Uh, I'm—uh—well, hell, I'm Tanaka Inuyasha," he finally blurted out, huffing a bit out of frustration. _Time to lay all the cards on the table and see if the shit hits the fan…_

__"I was placed under a spell fifty years ago when I was seventeen by a miko named Kikyou. I was stuck living with her until I escaped one night, stupid b—witch," he curbed his language. _Last thing I need is Mrs. Higurashi thinking is that I'm a completely uneducated cur and Souta picking up my fucking swearing habit._

Inuyasha shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking from one Higurashi to another. "I had been in the animal shelter for a month before you got me, Kagome.

"The reason I changed into my true form was because Kagome took that collar off me. Kikyou's spell was contained in it, and since Kagome has enough miko power to remove it, the warding on it allowed her to do so." Inuyasha drummed his long claws on his leg anxiously; Kagome gave his arm a soothing squeeze.

"Inuyasha," started Mama gently, "why did this Kikyou woman put such a terrible curse on you? She was a miko and mikos are supposed to serve the people."

"Yeah," Souta chimed in. "They're supposed to be like Sis and help others."

Inuyasha turned his gaze to the bare-topped Christmas tree, dog-ears twitching fretfully. "She said it was for my own good," he said quietly after a pregnant pause. "But she never told me what she was protecting me from. Pretty convenient she was 'protecting' me when I wanted to call it off."

Kagome gazed at him. "'Call it off'?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We had been dating for about a year, but we didn't seem to agree very often. Things just weren't going to work out--I just knew she and I weren't meant to be. So, the last date we went on, right after I told her I wanted to go our separate ways, Kikyou put the collar on me. Next thing I knew, I was a scampering around on all fours and she put me on a leash."

_That's just sick…_ Kagome thought. _Talk about over-possessive. _

Grampa watched Inuyasha intently, having been silent the whole time. Finally, he calmly drew out, "After all this time…"

Inuyasha nodded, chuckling softly. "Yeah, I still somehow found my way here. I didn't find out until recently from Sesshoumaru about the engagement."

"So, you're…" Kagome started, but stopped, the words dying in her throat.

The silver-haired demon turned his attention to her, alluring amber eyes fixed on her. "I'm a dog-hanyou, the son of Inutaisho and Setsuna. Apparently, Tetsusaiga is mine…and so are you."

The shrine-girl could only gape, wide-eyed, at the half-demon beside her. "You're my fiancé?" she squeaked.

He nodded once.

"Don't we have a way to prove that he really is Kagome's fiancé?" Mama beseeched Grandpa.

Gramps worked his jaw, attempting to get the first solution out of his brain and onto his tongue, but to no avail thus far.

"Ahem, I believe this is my field of expertise," a throaty voice asserted.

The Higurashi family glanced at Buyo, from whence the voice had come.

A dark speck bounced from the feline's hindquarters and up to Inuyasha's shoulder.

Kagome blinked. "Is that a flea?"

"My name is Myouga," said the small demon. "I was the retainer to the late Lord Inutaisho and now serve his youngest son Inuyasha. It is known to this family that the Tetsusaiga may only be wielded effectively by the destined offspring of Lord Inutaisho. Let my master hold the sword and if accepts him as its wielder, that should be proof enough." Myouga crossed his tiny sets of arms, sagely closing his eyes.

"Well, Myouga'd know better than me." Inuyasha glimpsed at Grampa. "So are we going to find out or not?"

The old man coughed once before rising. "Let's go to the mini-shrine. Kagome, you go ahead with Inuyasha and unlock it. The rest of us will follow."

Bobbing her head once, Kagome snatched a pair of beat up sneakers and marched to the back door. She slipped them on and went out into the cold night, the hanyou closely behind. The snow drifted up above her calf, stinging her bare skin. She winced. Then, Inuyasha crossed in front of her vision.

"Walk in the footsteps I leave so you won't get frostbite," he instructed without looking back at her.

She peered down at his bare feet. "Doesn't that hurt?" she inquired softly as they paced to the demi-shrine.

He shrugged. "I'm actually used to it. My feet have tougher soles than yours, not to mention my skin is not as frail, either."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"In translation," Myouga piped up from his master's shoulder, "Lord Inuyasha is saying that he appreciates your concern but he is more worried about you than him."

Inuyasha grunted as he reached up and squished the flea.

Kagome simply smiled as Myouga swished down into the snow and rebuked his master fiercely before hopping up and ducking behind Inuyasha's head.

They climbed up the steps of Tetsusaiga's undersized temple. The miko moved to the gray keypad attached to the right side and punched in five numbers. From within there was a quiet whirring noise followed like a small 'click'.

"It sounds like the system has disengaged now," stated Kagome, retrieving a keycard from the pocket of her pajamas and sliding it down the side of the keypad. "I carry it with me at all times." She shoved the doors apart and walked inside.

Inuyasha stared at the new security measures his brother had added: motion-detecting lasers, cameras, to name a few, and if he knew Sesshoumaru, there was something poison related somewhere as well. The boxes had been restacked since the last time he'd been in here; his brother's people were quiet and swift when they installed all the measures. Up ahead of him, Kagome slid the divider between them and Tetsusaiga away. He could smell the Higurashi family was coming up from the rear.

Kagome had removed the written spells and tilted back the lid. She extracted Tetsusaiga and rose from her kneel. Turning, she handed the sword to Inuyasha.

Their eyes connected, and it became clear to the hanyou that this girl was trusting him, not only with the sword but that if it should react the way it was expected to, she was trusting him with her.

"The Steel-Cleaving Fang, Tetsusaiga," reverently murmured Gramps. "The sword's true form should be revealed now that it is in your hands, Inuyasha, _if_ you truly are Inutaisho's son, which I think you are."

_Ok, Tetsusaiga, you have to transform or whatever. Reveal your true shape to everyone… My future depends on you._ Inuyasha gripped the battered hilt of the katana tightly, feeling a tremble wrack the nerves of his fingers. "Tetsusaiga," Inuyasha whispered to himself, "is a sword to protect humanity. But, there are no enemies around." He closed his eyes. _But there are enemies around, enemies like Naraku. Just because I can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist…_

A cool eddy passed by the group as they observed with bated breath for something—anything—to happen.

Without realizing he was speaking aloud, "I want to protect Kagome and her family forever." Inuyasha's eyelids flipped open when he felt a pulsation in his right palm, like it was coming from the very sword.

_It's like a heartbeat,_ he mentally reasoned. It gave another pulse, growing stronger. _I felt it before, but it was so slight… Have you chosen me as your wielder, Tetsusaiga?_

As if in response, the katana flared with a buff light, swallowing the entire blade—hilt and all. Then, it elongated and grew heavier until it curved into what looked like a giant fang. Flames licked at the hilt, touching Inuyasha's hand but not burning it. Tetsusaiga glowed in a pleased sort of way, or so it seemed to Inuyasha.

Myouga's large eyes sparkled in the sword's celestial light. "It transformed…. I told you Lord Inuyasha was the one chosen to wield Tetsusaiga, hu-hu!" The flea demon danced upon the case of the sword had been stowed in—how he snuck over there was anyone's guess.

Mama raised a hand to her mouth, she was obviously surprised. "Oh my. It looks like your fiancé has finally shown up, Kagome."

"Alright!" Souta cheered as the Tetsusaiga de-transformed. "I'm going to have the coolest big brother!"

Kagome stared, stunned prior to stooping by the long case again. She lifted the velvet cushion and drew out an ebony scabbard of wood. "Here." She handed it to Inuyasha. "This is rightfully yours."

Inuyasha took it and slipped the nicked sword into the scabbard, his face drawn in a slight frown as he stared at the girl's unreadable expression. He couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad.

"Well," the sound of Mama's soothingly loving voice caught his attention, "we need to find you a room to sleep in." She laughed when he gawked confusedly at her. "You didn't honestly think we'd send you out into the cold, did you, dear?"

He garbled something, kicking at the wood floor absently.

Mama laughed again, and without any hesitation came up and embraced him. "You're part of this family, Inuyasha. You just have an altered role."

"Y-yeah…" he mumbled quietly.

"Let's all go to bed. It's been a very long day."

Everyone began to troop back to the house, except for Kagome. She lingered for a moment, staring wistfully at the empty case. Releasing a soft exhale, she jogged out and shut the doors. The security system automatically re-engaged as she walked slothfully to the house, stepping into the larger footprints of Inuyasha.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome tossed and turned in her bed. She hadn't been able to fall asleep, continually restless for the past four hours and constantly wanting to stare at the desk drawer that held a certain leather collar within.

Everything was wrong.

She didn't want to sound ungrateful and spiteful, but she had been looking forward to turning sixteen in about nine months. It wasn't anything personal with Inuyasha, just that…well…

She felt sort of trapped.

Honored, but trapped.

_It's not everyday you're declared someone's fiancée for some prophetic reason,_ Kagome told herself as she stared at the ceiling high above her bed. Even so, she had wanted to fall in love without guilt and to get married to who she wanted—to be free! This was confusing and backwards and so old-style!

Yet…while it might've fit into that category, it suited another just as well.

It was sort of charming to be engaged to someone you had to get to know, and how much more romantic than your love being predicted, like a prophesy or something the was magical and wonderful.

_After all, it was not a fluke that I chose Inuyasha at the animal shelter. _Kagome rolled over, peering thru the darkness at the circle of moonlight on the floor. _But what bothers me is how much he looks and acts like Taisho… _

_Inutaisho…._

_Inuyasha…_

Her eyes widened as her thoughts lead her to a curious conclusion. _What are the odds that they're the same person, someway, somehow? _

"He could be…if the spell chose only to bind to his youki…" she figured, breaking the stillness of her room. Sitting up slowly, Kagome swung her legs off the edge of her bed. "Then he could have been there…watching over me all along.

"I dreamt of Inuyasha's real form, and…" She flushed cherry-red at the remembrance of the dream-kiss. "But…if he is Taisho as well, that would be mean…

"I fell for my fiancé anyway…" Touching her toes to the carpet, Kagome sauntered to her doorway.

As she went down the stairs, _I guess we're just fated, huh, Inuyasha?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Well? This one was definitely difficult to write. A bit shorter than most of them recently, but I didn't want to write the next part yet, because, well…ah, um, heh, I'm thinking right now. Anyway, review please!

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. Sorry, I was going to post earlier but, my other disk is getting a little up there in the years, and it wouldn't read. So, if this chapter isn't as smooth, it's because this is a second run-thru and…that's about it. I was really freaked out. I was going to post on Friday or Thursday but…hey, it's here. It's all good. By the way, I just remembered Kagome has mats in her room, not carpeting, so sorry, and I'm going to drop the whole Tetsusaiga/Tessaiga thing; I'm just not in the mood to get ticked off about it. Let sleeping dogs lie.


	17. A Test of Skill

_Disclaimer:_ Inuyasha is not mine. Happy now?

A/N: Well, I'm eventually going to go back and have all the chapters have our favorite hanyou's name spelled Inuyasha, but right now, that would take way too long, so until I can go to my brothers' house (the younger one rents the downstairs apartment from out eldest—I'm the youngest sibling, the only girl), we'll just go with the way I've been using Viz's spelling. Alrighty? So, far, so, good. I think. Still having to pace myself and man-oh-man do I keep hoping this is going to come out the way I want.

Gonna say this once: If it's in dialogue, it supposed to be that way. No one talks perfectly 100% of the time.

_Chapter Seventeen: __A Test of Skill_

Kagome crept down the stairs. She headed for the den, from which she could hear faint voices, probably from the television. She gently rapped on the doorjamb, crossing one foot behind the other. "Hey, Inuyasha. Can I come in?"

"Yeah," he replied, the volume of the TV decreasing. "What's up?"

The girl crossed into the room. Mama had laid a futon on the floor for him, which he was currently sprawled on his belly upon, Tetsusaiga laid next to him. A can of coke sat at arm's reach to his right, and a late night showing of a translated Star Wars movie was flashing on the television screen.

Sitting down on the floor beside the futon, Kagome made herself comfortable before beginning. "Inuyasha, all half-demons have a time of vulnerability, do they not?"

Inuyasha looked at her, mildly surprised and maybe a little annoyed. "Yeah. What of it?" he asked in a closed-sounding voice, turning part of his attention to Luke Skywalker battling against Darth Vader.

"Um…" she droned into silence. The buzzing of the light sabers smacking against each other filled the air as the fight continued. Kagome had watched the Star Wars trilogy a few times—Souta and Miroku were both huge fans, and Sango had a love of writing fan fiction on it—and she found her hands starting to grip an imaginary sword, envisioning some form of opponent she was fighting—

"What of it?"

"Huh?" Kagome peered back at Inuyasha.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Oh," she glimpsed at the floor, "well, I just wanted to know…when…you know…."

"No," he sat up, swinging his body around so his legs were stretched before him and he reclined rearward on his hands, "I don't."

"Well," she folded and unfolded her hands lethargically before saying, "I was wondering if it is—was—possible for you, while you were a dog, to lose your powers?" Kagome peeked up from the floor to Inuyasha. "And maybe…"

The hanyou let out a long exhale, tipping his face to the ceiling. "…Yeah, Kagome, I could lose my hanyou powers. You sensed my youki, didn't you?"

"Mm…mm-hmm." She nodded.

"So, yeah, I guess Kikyou's spell played on my demonic energy and so when there was none, it kind of piddled out."

"Then, only I could take it off because of her warding against you…"

"And because you're a miko, or at least training. You had enough spiritual power." Inuyasha took an askance look at the girl beside him. "What's the point of all this?"

"So, you've transformed while you've been with me, haven't you? When there was no demonic energy, you changed. Am I right?"

Inuyasha gulped. "Um…" He might've been a bit slow on the uptake on a lot of things, but he had a hunch he knew what she wanted to know. He completely turned away from the pointed stare she was giving him. "Just drop it would ya?" he muttered.

Kagome made a sound of bother. "Hey!" She reached over and snagged one of his forelocks, whirling him around to face her with a yelp. "Answer the question," she demanded. "Have you or haven't you?"

He glared at her, but the strength of it died rather quickly. "Y-yeah…."

Kagome's eyes softened, yet she still queried, "Did you follow after me to movies?"

A long pause.

"….Yes."

"Did you call yourself Taisho?"

Another wait.

"…Yes." Inuyasha waited for her to say something more, yet nothing came. The silence began to grate on his already half-frayed nerves and the slightly mortified expression on his fiancée's face didn't help any. "What the hell's with that look? It's not like I could tell you who I really was!"

The girl started at the exclamation, releasing his hair. "I-I know…"

"Then what is it?!"

"I just wanted to make sure you were him."

"Huh?" He quirked an eyebrow.

With a visage that was more recognizable as embarrassment, "I was worried about Taisho…and…since I didn't know why I hadn't seen him…. I was just curious I guess." She smiled. "But it looks like you're right here, Inuyasha."

"Oh…" Former canine scratched behind an ear. "That was it?"

She bobbled her head as she made a sound of concurrence. "Yup. I guess I'll go back to bed. Goodnight, dog boy."

He grunted once. "'Night." Inuyasha watched as Kagome, yawningly, left his temporary bedroom. _She really wondered where I was all this time?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Early the next morning, Grampa rapped on the doorjamb of the den. "Get up, Inuyasha!"

The boy woke up in alarm, letting out an extremely undignified yowl. "Geez, old man," he groused, squinting one eye as he tried to shake the ringing from his ears. "You didn't have to shout."

Gramps stood there with his hands tucked behind his back, in his priest's garments once more. "It's time to start your training."

"What training?" Inuyasha, fully awake, got to his feet, taking Tetsusaiga with him.

He peered up at the dog-demon with a stern face. "To teach you how to fight with your sword. Follow me." Gramps whirled on his heel and strode away.

Not knowing what else to do, Inuyasha followed. "Where exactly are you gonna teach me?"

Gramps took a right turn, near 'home base' and the old man's room, and continued down the hall. It was then, as they took a left to follow another corridor that Inuyasha realized he'd never been on this side of the house. The shrine house was still fairly dark, as none of the lights had been turned on, and what light that shone through the windows they passed was faint, almost eerie. Finally, they came to a large room; something in the far reaches of it glowed.

Flipping the switch outside the unknown chamber, Gramps mysteriously said, "In here."

Luminosity flooded the room, revealing to be a small dojo training hall. A few practice swords, bows, and staves hung on racks on the walls. Other than that, the room pretty bare, with the exception of wall of rice paper that separated into two sliding doors, like much of the shrine.

"What the hell…?" Inuyasha stepped in after the old man.

"This is my private training area, Inuyasha." Gramps gaited to the wooden practice swords and took two from the rack. He tossed one to the boy, who caught it with ease. "For now, I want you to use that sword."

Inuyasha gave a quick dip of his head, setting Tetsusaiga to the side. "Whatever."

"I want you to grasp the bottom, which would normally be the hilt and hold it firmly." Gramps demonstrated with the one in his own grasp. "Be careful where you place your thumb. You would lay your left hand beneath your right in the same grip." He waited as the hanyou boy did as instructed. "Now, you are going to use these strokes when swinging your blade," Gramps performed the strokes first, "and keep your feet from getting jumbled or letting yourself get knocked off balance."

"Do we really have to get into all this pomp and circumstance crap?" snipped Inuyasha, growing impatient. "You said you were gonna 'teach' me, Gramps, so get on with it. Any idiot knows how to hold a blade with one hand or with two. And moving ain't a problem for me—I'm half-demon."

Grampa gave an aggravated grunt. "Only an idiot rushes into things half-knowing."

"Well, maybe I already know half of this and you're just showing me the other half I forgot," he retorted. "I'm not learning to play tennis, I'm going to wield a sword, and starting off with this dinky, little wooden practice sword isn't going to be good enough. If I'm really supposed to use Tetsusaiga, taking baby steps right now probably isn't the best idea." _Especially since someone's after Tetsusaiga and probably me…_

Pacing back and for a moment, Grampa started, "You know that the military taught all members in the armed forces hand-to-hand combat, including bushido.

"Your father personally taught me in his off time how to wield a sword in the style of your family. I practiced it quite a bit, needless to say. That is one reason why your father entrusted me with Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha. He trusted me and wanted me to instruct you. I have been practicing for fifty years, waiting for you to arrive.

"Now it is time to begin."

The hanyou blinked several times. "Whoa, whoa, whoa—you mean to tell me _you're_ going to spar with me, Gramps?"

He took a stance. "My only stipulation is that because you are half-demon, you will have to use as much strength as a human would possess, or else you could really hurt this old man. Your father had to do the same with me in my prime. Now, we are going to see how much you know."

"You're actually serious about this?" he asked, still disbelieving.

"Come, Inuyasha."

"But—"

"This is a test, boy! Now come!" commanded Gramps.

As reluctant as he was to locking wooden swords with Kagome's grandfather, Inuyasha did as he was told. His mother and father must have known what he was supposed to do, even though the thought of having a crucial part of his life planned out was not all that appealing, and right now, he was going to trust their last judgments.

Raising the practice sword above his head, he rushed Gramps—mindful not too use all his strength in his swing—and made a vertical slash at the stationary old man's head. _Why isn't he moving?_ Inuyasha thought as the strike neared his pate. He was about to pull out when the dull thump of wood on wood reach his ears and he was pushed back.

Gramps struck at his side and Inuyasha dove out of the way, tucking into a roll. He was on his feet again, just barely managing to block another strike. Over and over, a pattern like this went, but Inuyasha was eventually able to find some sort of rhythm and tap Gramps on the wrist, his neck, and once his leg—he really didn't want to harm an old fart.

"That's enough, Inuyasha," wheezed the old man. "You have a lot of potential, and sometime during our little match, you became more confident of your skill. Your father showed you once, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did." He gripped the wood, staring at his bruised knuckles, but feeling a rush of energy through his body and grateful at the mobility he'd been able to execute. "After a while, it started to become second nature to me, again."

"That makes my job much easier." Gramps took Inuyasha's sword, and, along with his own, replaced it on the rack. "Now, let's have some breakfast." He slapped the hanyou boy hard on the back; his eyes widened and he made squeaky noises of pain in the back of his throat. "Eh?"

"You whapped me there eight times with that stick, old man," growled Inuyasha. _That's the last time I let you get off easy…_

Gramps looked at him for a moment. "Oh, I did, didn't I? Oh well. Just mind the fact you're going to learn from that. It's imperative that you learn."

_Tell that to my shoulder blades…_ Inuyasha thought, stalking after Gramps. He doubled back to snatch Tetsusaiga before shutting off the light. No way was he leaving that thing alone ever again.

When they entered the kitchen, the sun had lazily risen, but tantalizing smells of real food tickled at Inuyasha's nose. Mama was humming over the stove, making a huge stack of flapjacks. "Hello, boys," she greeted with a smile, taking a glass from the cupboard and filling it high with milk. Syrup, orange juice, butter, utensils, plates, and tea were already on the table. "Go ahead and sit down. Kagome and Souta should be down in a bit."

"What're you doing up so early, Mrs. Higurashi?" Inuyasha queried, plopping tiredly into one of the kitchen chairs. He laid Tetsusaiga over his lap.

"I was up for you two, of course." She took the plate of pancakes and set the entire stack in front of Inuyasha. "I figured Grampa would have you up bright and early for some reason or another, so I decided to start breakfast early."

"You made pancakes. Lovely, Sana." Gramps reached over to steal one from the hanyou's stack when his hand was slapped by Mama.

She gave him a glare behind her smile. "Those are for Inuyasha, Grampa," she stated pleasantly, continued to warn him with the look only a woman can give. "You'll get some in a sec."

Gramps moaned, something about 'at this age' and 'starving to death' until he sat at the head of the table.

Turning to the half-demon with another grin, Mama said, "I'm sure you're famished, Inuyasha. Go ahead and eat, dear."

"Th-thanks." The giving heart of Mama never ceased to amaze Inuyasha. He slathered butter between each cake and poured syrup over them all.

Oh, the taste of simple pancakes after eating kibble for so long…

Mama made a short stack for Gramps and eventually sat down with a few for herself. "So, what were you doing, Grampa?"

After swallowing a large mouthful of syrup-soaked flapjack and a gulp of orange juice, he replied, "I was teaching him how to properly swordfight."

"I see. How did it go, Inuyasha?"

Aforementioned boy glanced up from his piggy indulgence. "Wish I'd done better than that," he answered truthfully. "I felt really inept, 'cause I haven't used a sword in a long time…and then I can't use my strength to its fullest…."

Grampa snapped, "That's because you need to have—"

"—the skill in which to channel your strength in the proper direction," Kagome said before yawning as she entered the kitchen. "Is that what you were going to say, Grampa? Oh, pancakes!"

Gramps huffed but didn't say anything.

Shrugging, Kagome took the seat beside Inuyasha. "Good morning, Inuyasha."

"Morning," he managed between slightly ticked off bites of flapjacks. Regardless Kagome had finished the little rant of Gramps, he was insulted—or more ashamed with himself for not recognizing the validity of the statement. Pride was both his strength and his weakness.

"So Gramps is showing you how to swordfight?" Kagome accepted the three pancakes her mother passed to her. "He can be pretty tough when he's trying to show you something. Mind passing the boysenberry?"

Inuyasha handed her the container of syrup, drumming his claws of the tabletop thoughtfully. It was odd, how only yesterday morning, he'd been lying on the floor at Kagome's feet, getting fed the odd scrap from her or Souta's (or even Mama's) plate. Now, here he was, in his natural body, eating breakfast like a person.

He'd had the collar on for so long that it was a little odd to be in this body. Last night, before he'd gone off to bed, Inuyasha had stopped by the downstairs bathroom. It had been very strange indeed to see flows of silver hair again, gold eyes, being able to run his tongue over fangs in a humanoid mouth, his dog ears—he'd leave the tail business to Sesshoumaru--, clawed fingertips—hell, even an opposable thumb was fascinating.

Never having to go back to being a mutt again…

He knew the family probably still had lots of questions about his past, and rightfully so, but Inuyasha was always a private person. His matters were his, but he was steadily beginning to see that the old saying of "your past affects your present and future" was undeniably true. He was no mind reader or psychic, that's for sure, yet he had enough brains in his dog-eared cranium to know that there was no coincidence of Naraku playing some role in his life now; he'd been involved, though indirect to his knowledge.

Naraku had somehow known about the Tetsusaiga and the deed, but that conversation, so fragmented, about him fifty years ago… _Why would Naraku want the deed so soon if he knew it wouldn't expire for fifty years?_

That question bothered him, along with: _And if he wanted the deed, I'm sure Sesshoumaru wouldn't let anyone defile anything of Father's. So he laid in wait…but what for? That bastard Naraku's as greedy as the come, so what more could he want besides the Western Domain? He could've found someway to try and distract Sesshoumaru…or maybe he didn't know where the deed was at the time… There's gotta be something more._

Naraku had obviously thought Kikyou knew something, but whatever information she held, not even Inuyasha knew.

Kikyou was part of his past…and he really didn't want her in his new present or his future with the Higurashis—with Kagome.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After breakfast, Gramps said he had to rest his bones a bit and toddled out to attend to any visitors that might venture up.

Basically, he was going to watch a few game shows before nodding off in the recliner.

Inuyasha, in the meantime, had returned to the den to take a closer look at Tetsusaiga. The wrappings of the hilt were battered and rather sad appearing; the blade was nicked in places, it lacked luster, and it was pretty dull-edged, too.

He gave it a swing, hearing it swish through the air. The only thing that seemed to be in good condition was the ebony wooden scabbard. He sighed, "Man, you looked a lot cooler when you transformed, you old hunk of metal. Hmm?" The sound of footsteps approaching reached his ears, making Inuyasha gaze at the doorway.

Souta rounded the corner, Buyo in close company. Judging from the way the cat was yawning, he was ready to nap.

The boy however, still clad in his solid blue pajamas, and smelling strongly of maple syrup, was overjoyed to see Inuyasha. "It really did happen!" he cheered, rushing into the room. "You really do exist!"

"Uh…yeah…" Inuyasha replied, not sure what else to say but that.

"I saw Mama and she said that you're learning to use a sword—does that mean you're going to use Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha?"

"Well, yeah I'm going to wield it, kid. It's my sword."

"And Sis's dowry," he also pointed out.

"That too."

Souta plopped down beside the hanyou, starting some form of idol worship immediately. "You said you wanted to protect us, right, big brother?"

"Uh…" boy that kid jumped on being attached pretty easy, "yeah…. Did I really say that out loud yesterday?" Inuyasha inquired, tucking Tetsusaiga into the scabbard once more.

Souta bobbled his messy-haired head largely. "It was really great!" he went on, missing the look of distress that crossed the hanyou's countenance. "So, you're really going to marry my sister?"

"I guess…" he replied slowly. "You're not tape recording me or something, are you?"

"Nope."

"So, it's not a trick question?"

The boy shook his head. "But you're going to marry her?" Souta repeated enthusiastically, having a problem sitting still.  
Inuyasha didn't answer straightaway, only releasing a long breath. "Well, the way I have to look at it is my folks must've known something I didn't." He ran his fingers down the sleek scabbard pensively. "My mom was a mystic after all."

Souta's brown eyes wobbled to an enormous, adoring size. "Really? A real mystic…. Cool."

"Heh." Inuyasha smirked. "It was pretty cool. She could see into the future a bit, a couple different kinds of ESP."

"Like moving stuff with her mind?" Souta asked eagerly.

"Yeah, that and she could read minds and know the feelings and emotions left in an old objects. Not to mention she could create and destroy matter." Inuyasha grinned at the look of whimsy on the youngest Higurashi's face.

"Wow…. Can you do any of that?"

He flopped backwards onto the futon. "Don't know. I never tried." He held up a hand. "I've got these claws, which are pretty useful, but that's not uncommon among demons."

"No, but you're the coolest," insisted Souta. "I'll bet you're really strong and could defeat _any_one who wants to get Tetsusaiga. I'm sure Sis thinks so, too."

Inuyasha let his hand drop onto his stomach before looking to the little boy. "Ya think so, kid?" he inquired, almost hopefully. It was the least he could wish for right now; he wasn't sure of his feelings for Kagome exactly, and no doubt she was even less certain.

The life of being a plaything of the gods…

Souta nodded vigorously. "You were a cool dog, and she told me once that she thought she could understand some of what you said to her." He grinned brightly, while Inuyasha paled at the reminder that to Kagome, his name evoked images of a silver-haired husky. "But now you're Sis's fiancé, so you have to be cool, 'cause you found your way here without anyone telling you."

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess I did."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Again, Inuyasha," Gramps barked, now holding a bamboo sword and swatting slowly at the hanyou's, which was raised above his head. "Good. Now continue to block each strike. You must remember this is a bit like a dance. You should become comfortable enough to recognize certain patterns and transition."

"Sounds easy enough," stated the half-demon, whirling around to parry. After tuckering the poor man out, Inuyasha had decided to at least refresh his skills and go slow, which was really difficult considering he felt ready enough to take down a dragon.

"If you practice hard and nurture your gift, it will be. Your sight, Inuyasha, is multiples better than the average human's, so it should help you greatly when fighting a skilled opponent."

"And if they're hella fast," he avoided a particularly swift series of blows from the old man, "I should be able to dodge them, right?"

"Do not forget defense, no matter what," Gramps repeated for what must've been the thousandth time. "Reach out with your senses and keep yourself alert."

"Got it." Fighting was not something unfamiliar to Inuyasha, and he was feeling more at ease in practice, but he was really itching to wield Tetsusaiga. It had felt so natural holding the blade, and it he wanted that sensation of connectedness again.

Gramps reversed allowing Inuyasha to do play the offensive part and put him on the defensive, though returning to the easy, flowing tempo. "You are at ease with offensive. All I can say is do not let your blows get wild and careful of your temper. I've seen that displayed plenty today."

"Hmph. Can't we go a _bit_ faster?" bemoaned Inuyasha.

The old man thought it over. "You learn quickly. Our first match was probably nowhere near as fast as you would have liked."

"Wouldn't have been fair to overtake you, old man," the boy mumbled when they paused.

"For now, we will continue with this kind of training, but perhaps tomorrow or later tonight you will get a match as you wish." Gramps winked with a crooked grin. "You'll need a training opponent that is youthful enough to keep pace. As your father taught you so much, and you, Inuyasha, have seemed to have retained it so well, all I can do is help you perfect it. I was expecting a much longer and more difficult road to teaching you—I do not think I'll have much more to teach you after a few days if we keep our practices this long."

Inuyasha smirked. "My mother used to say I was too young to learn, but I guess not, huh?"

He shook his head. "Not at all." Gramps straightened up, and backed away; Inuyasha ceased attacking. "My joints are creaking something fierce, rheumatism you know. We're finished for today. Why don't you go and talk to Kagome? I'm sure it would be a good idea for you to get to know your fiancée a little better, now that she knows what you're saying."

Nodding, Inuyasha took Grampa's advice and left the training room to go search for Kagome, feeling very full of himself indeed, especially with Tetsusaiga tied at his left hip with a sash of red cloth he found in the old man's room. He discovered the girl outside, sweeping the shrine's steps. He tramped his way outside, not bothering to put shoes on. "Oi, Kagome," he called as he neared her.

"Hmm?" She turned, bundled in her sapphire coat. She smiled lightly, still brushing away snow. "How'd training with Grandpa go?"

He shrugged, but an arrogant smile spread across his face. "Apparently I'm a gifted swordsman."

"Not surprising," Kagome calmly asserted, looking down at the twenty-odd steps she had left to sweep.

"Why's that?"

"You had potential. Gramps kept saying you did; his voice has a tendency to carry." The girl laughed, a melodious sound. "Even so, it looks like you still have some maturing to do with your skill."

Inuyasha blinked at her, scrunching his nose. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Leaning the broom against the crook of her arm, Kagome reached out and pulled his hands into her, revealing the dark, fat lines of violet across his knuckles and backs of his hands. She inclined her head at them. "You got pretty bad bruises. I bet Gramps doesn't have so many."

The hanyou snorted. "Old fart probably doesn't have any. I went easy on him."

"Oh really?" She giggled.

"Shut up, wench," he retorted. "You don't think I'm some pussy, do you?"

Kagome shook her head. "I never said that, but…if that's what _you_ think of yourself, Inuyasha, that's your business."

"Bitch."

"You know, the more names you call me, the more my thoughts on your IQ dwindle."

Inuyasha snorted again, about to cross his arms, when he realized Kagome was still holding his hands. "Uh…" He flushed.

"Hmm?" She glanced down at her gloved fingers curved gently over his long, clawed ones. More pink poured into her cheeks, making her already chilly cheeks ruddy. "S-sorry."

"Yeah, well, uh…" Inuyasha intelligently spluttered as Kagome languidly released his hands. Being coy never was his strong suit, and with Kagome it was doubly hard. Inuyasha was a straightforward guy, but the problem was, he didn't what he should be upfront about. "Well," he managed, "I'll be able to join you for dinner tonight, huh?"

Kagome smiled. "Yeah, you will. By the way, where'd you get the clothes? You really look like a bullfighter now with the sword at your side."

"Funny." Inuyasha crossed his arms across his chest. "My brother Sesshoumaru provided them for me. Buyo got me the clothes I wore to the movies."

She blinked, the latter statement taking precedence. "Buyo? My Buyo? My big, fat, cuddly, chub-a-wub cat?"

Sniggering, "Yeah. He's actually pretty resourceful."

"So where'd he get them?"

Inuyasha's laughing died. "Well…they were your dad's…"

Glancing down, Kagome murmured, "Oh."

"It was Buyo's idea, so don't blame me," he said hurriedly. "I didn't think your mom wanted to find me in the nude wandering around your bedroom."

She shook her head, foregoing that image. "No, it's not that. I'm sure my father would have been glad to know that someone got a use out of his clothing. I wanted to know why you followed after me that night." She turned to him, allowing gold and cobalt to mix together. "You know, when I went to the movies with Houjou."

Inuyasha stuttered for an excuse. "I-I didn't want to see you with that kid…Houjou. It bothered me. He was weak, how would he be able to defend you with those scrawny arms of his?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Be honest."

"I told you; I didn't want you to fall for some guy that couldn't protect you. It wouldn't have been safe, you twit."

Having spent time with him as Taisho, the insults' effects were numbed especially since he never denied the obvious. "You were jealous…" she whispered.

"I was NOT jealous!" shouted Inuyasha. "Got it?!" His ears were feeling rather hot right now….

"Yes, you were!" Kagome poked him in the chest, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.

He took the jab and leaned forward at her. "No, I wasn't! I told you—"

"Then why'd you bite Kouga at the vet's office and pee on him the other time, huh?" She placed a hand on her hip, challenging him to challenge her as they stood about two feet apart.

"Because he's a sneaky wolf, that's why!" His arms moved out to the sides and his fingers curled into fists. "Gods, shouldn't it be obvious to you, or aren't you bright enough to know that wolves are ruthless?" He stared down the bridge of his nose at her, their shared gaze remaining unwavering.

"He just likes me, Inuyasha," she reasoned calmly. "Why does that bother you so much? It doesn't mean I automatically like him that way back."

Inuyasha grunted, finally breaking their connection. "Forget this, this is stupid," he assessed, crossing his arms, hands still in fists.

Kagome made a little growl of frustration prior to turning away from also. "You're so immature, Inuyasha."

"Keh."

_Geez,_ she thought, giving an askance glance when he happened to be looking to her also before diverting her eyes again, still in unison with him, _would it kill you just to admit that you're jealous?_

_I always felt a weird connection to you, Kagome and now… _Inuyasha muttered to himself, nowhere loud enough for Kagome to hear him, "You're my fiancée…."

_It's not like I even like Houjou or Kouga all that much_, Kagome huffed quietly_. Besides…_

The wind was still, as were they and their words, but even so, it felt as if things were rushing by the pair.

"You know," she began softly, now peering out over the bustling Tokyo below, "you're my fiancé. I always thought it was either going to be really ridiculous, or really awful but…it's not so bad, to be honest. I mean, I didn't expect you to first be my dog."

Taken aback, Inuyasha looked to her, seeing her feathery black hair fluttering in the wind, while he remained mute for a spell. "Wish I could say I don't feel any different, being engaged and everything, but I wasn't raised knowing I was betrothed to someone who hadn't been born yet. I'm me, but with some kind of duty now."

"Yeah," she laughed, absently moving the straw bristles of the broom across the snow. "I was kind of scared of having to marry some old guy."

Inuyasha chuckled a bit at that himself. "I had no opinion or choice on this, but you didn't either." He shoved a hand in the pocket of his pants, feeling the scabbard of Tetsusaiga brush against his hand, still slightly pulsing with warm energy. "Not exactly how I imagined my life to run. Then again, transfiguring into a dog wasn't in the plan either."

"That's what makes life, life," Kagome said, moving her gaze to him. "Neither of us planned it, and neither of us knows what's ahead. So, even though my grandfather and your parents decided it, we still can choose what we make of our lives. Destiny or not, we still have free will, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha nodded deeply. Here stood a pretty young girl not much younger than he, and it reminded him of a few things--things that would have to be dealt with, things for her safety…for her verve, to which he'd grown so fond. "I guess we'll just have to see what comes and face it."

Kagome smiled. "Together."

"Yeah…together." He scratched the nape of his neck with his free hand. "And, ah, well, didn't mean for you to see all that last night." Another flood of warmth went to his face. "Just kind of how it always happens when changing…"

"Apology accepted," Kagome laughed gently; he was glad she wasn't going to hold it against him. "I'm glad you're back to your normal self. That's what matters."

"You don't have a dog anymore," Inuyasha pointed out lightheartedly.

"No, but…now I've got you." She smiled at him again and this time, he truthfully smiled back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hey! Finished this and...as the story has more plot twists, the more befuddled my brain gets. Gotta kind of laugh it off. It usually straightens out: "Be like licorice, and story shall be on the right path." Ok, hokey, but I kind of felt like it. Like I've said before, please read and review _each chapter separately_ that way I can look at questions or concerns you had for each chapter and know without trying to sort through questions that bounce through the story's time frame. As you can tell, I've changed all the names to their 'proper' status.

Moonlight Shadow


	18. Settling In

A/N: I always find myself having to listen to Linkin Park when working on any Inuyasha story…well, mainly this one and when I was writing MLV. My brother Jason is my hero for saving my story, so-to-speak; if he hadn't recovered chapter 16, I'd be even further behind schedule. You know, this was the chapter I ended MLV; don't worry, _plenty_ of OaL left to go. Changed all the names to their 'proper' form. (I just caught the mistake with Chapter 17 and Kikyou's name…whoopsie… Fixed that, naturally.) You guys are really good at figuring out some of the stuff in my head. Kudos to you!

**Check this out! **Michelle Latta enjoyed Chapter Fifteen so much…she drew a picture from the end of the chap! It's entitled "don't scream" and the link is in my bio and I will include it here. (Just be sure to take out the spaces when typing it in the URL).

http:www. tenthplanetart. com/ color/ dontscream.jpg

I feel so honored and loved. Thank you, Michelle, for drawing such a wonderful picture and being the first one to do a fan art of my stuff. I really am flattered.

_Chapter Eighteen: __Settling In_

Dinner was superb, especially since Inuyasha was allowed to eat it at the table rather than the cold tile floor. It was only simple fish filets, white rice, and some soy sauce, but he didn't care. The food itself was perfect.

Souta, between sneezes, was telling Mama about the huge snow fort he'd built out back and how he wanted to have Kohaku over to have a snowball fight; Mama had to remind him that she wasn't sure, due to the sudden—but very much wanted—appearance of Inuyasha.

Gramps was eating, making little mutters to himself, usually about the gift shop's stock.

And Kagome had to help him use chopsticks after such a long absence of using anything other than his mouth and fingers (or paws); chopsticks took more coordination than a knife and fork.

"Here, Inuyasha," she said patiently, resetting the sticks in his hand. "Now, watch me." Kagome demonstrated with her own, separating a bit of fish from the rest, dipping it into the soy sauce and popping it into her mouth. "You try."

He worked the chopsticks a bit awkwardly, and his ineptness infuriated him. With an angry, quiet snarl, Inuyasha lifted a piece of fish to his mouth and gobbled it before it could teeter all the way off. He chewed it, fuming. "I can't believe I'm so bad at this…"

Kagome patted his shoulder, smiling consoling. "Don't worry. You've been out of practice. I'm sure after a few more dinners, you'll be back to using them normally."

"Yeah…" Inuyasha continued to work on his chopstick technique; all the while something perpetually pestered him. He'd told Kagome's family all the pertinent stuff, but he felt like there was something he'd yet to do.

Souta let out a loud sneeze.

Mama looked to him, handing him another napkin. "I think you might have a bit of a cold."

"No way. I don't want to have to take some nasty medicine."

_Medicine…_ Inuyasha thought, his attention piqued. _Catching a cold…._

_"A strong demon potion," Miss Kumiko said, leaning away from the quiescent waif. "… Master Sesshoumaru's daughter Yuki had a terrible cold a few weeks ago, and a bit of this helped her get over it in two days."_

Inuyasha blinked, his memory jogged. _That's right; Sesshoumaru would probably want to know what the hell's going on. He knows more about what might be going through Naraku's pea brain than me. If I want to keep Kagome and the rest of the Higurashi's safe, I probably should say what my annoying brother has to say since I'm back to normal. He didn't want me leaving when I'm not in my human form, so he's got a reason that he hasn't let me in on…_

He hurriedly finished off his dinner and stacked his bowls onto his napkin before scooting away from the table. "Uh, 'scuse me," he half-assed mumbled, dumping his dishes into the sink.

"Is everything all right, dear?" Mama asked, gazing at him with motherly-loving brown eyes.

"Yeah, everything's fine. The food was great. I just have something I need to do." He whisked out of the room, catching the glimpse from Kagome as he did.

Inuyasha ducked into 'home base' and rifled through the red coat Sesshoumaru had given him for the business card. He swore to himself when it dawned on him it was still in the green jacket he'd left at the mansion.

Buyo waddled past the doorway, apparently going to take his fifth nap—tough job to be a fat cat. _"Something wrong, Inuyasha?"_

"I don't have the business card Sesshoumaru gave me. It's still at the mansion."

_"Aren't you just a little genius?"_

"Shut up, fur ball. I need that phone number."

A dot of black hopped from Buyo's backside to where Inuyasha crouched. "Lord Inuyasha," Myouga began, perching on a stack of brightly colored papers, "perhaps I can be of some assistance here. Ahem, I happen to know your brother's cell phone number as well as his work number and home. Amazing the things you can learn by simply looking around."

Inuyasha snorted. "Well then, old man Myouga, you're going to give me the cell number. I won't have to go through a bunch of people, will I?"

Myouga shook his head. "No, Master. Lord Sesshoumaru answers this one himself."

Stalking to the far hallway, the hanyou picked up the cordless phone and punched in the number his retainer gave him, choosing to hold it by his mouth and relying on his keen hearing to catch the noises coming from the human earpiece. He ducked into the den. _Pick up, you bastard,_ he berated, slumping against the wall.

On the fifth ring, a cool voice said, "Yes?"

"Sesshoumaru, it's me."

"Inuyasha?" he sounded as surprised as was possible for him. "I was not expecting to hear your voice so soon. Returned to being a half-demon again, have you?"

"No, I'm a flying monkey--of course I have," he snapped, sliding to the floor. "Anyway, you said not to leave until I was human again, so what do I do now? I'm sure you have some reason for not wanting me out yet."

"Of course. I am merely taking precautions for you sake, little brother."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly. "What for?"

"Without going into detail, it seems that Naraku might go after you, as he already knows where Tetsusaiga is, it would be the next logical step."

_That's what I was afraid of. Naraku might come here himself…_ "Won't it put the Higurashis in danger?" asked Inuyasha, ears twitching anxiously at the soft hums from the hallway.

"It may and it may not."

Sesshoumaru's statement wasn't all that reassuring. The thought of the Higurashi family in some form of peril made the hanyou's stomach knot up guiltily.

"It all depends," Sesshoumaru continued, "on how well we keep the fact that you are alive and back to your natural state out of the ears of Naraku's operatives. Though I am certain that he does not know the details of the prophesy or the clue left to me, Naraku knows Tetsusaiga is involved."

"I remember him and Kikyou talking about me one time," Inuyasha said, thinking aloud. "I hadn't been a dog too long, and they were talking by the car. Couldn't hear everything they said, but I know Naraku was looking for me."

Sesshoumaru made a thoughtful noise. "Perhaps he had thought you carried the deed with you. Regardless what happened in the past, Naraku now knows you and Tetsusaiga are needed to access the deed—but it is possible that he is not aware that only you may wield Tetsusaiga."

"Probably. It did accept me anyway. The old priest is dusting off my sword technique." Inuyasha shrugged to himself. "Do you still want me to stay here?"

"For the time being, yes. It would be wise to learn from Father's friend while you are there. While you have an obligation to the Higurashis, this must take precedence. We cannot allow our family's political power fall into the hands of someone so unworthy."

"Yeah, and Naraku's the worst kind of scum."

"Ambitious, powerful scum, indeed. We will talk more during your spell of humanity. I still have some preparing to do. Until then, Inuyasha." With a small 'click', Sesshoumaru left Inuyasha in the company of that parting sentiment, and a few things to think on.

Inuyasha shook his head lightly before rocking it back into the wall. "What am I gonna do…?" _Can I really stay here without letting the Higurashis get into trouble? Seems unlikely…_

"Mind explaining what's going on?" a voice queried, making the dog-hanyou start. Inuyasha turned his head as Kagome entered the room, peering at him curiously. "What's going on?"

"Uh…" he stalled.

She plopped down before him. "No secrets, Inuyasha. Just come out and tell me."

He swiveled his noggin away slightly. "I'd rather not…but I guess you should know."

From there, Inuyasha launched into explanation about his connection to Sesshoumaru, which Kagome admitted she had wondered about when he'd mentioned he'd gotten clothes from him; he told her about the deed and what he and Sesshoumaru had to do, the clue and the idea of a prophesy, how he'd darted off to see his brother the second time he became human, and anything he knew about Naraku—which was not much.

Even so, it felt like as if that terrible encumbrance he had been suffering for the past month or so had been lifted from his chest when he told her, and Kagome had listened intently, absorbing every word.

"So, what are we going to do?" she asked, one leg tucked up against her chest with her arms wrapped around it.

Inuyasha had gotten to his feet during his elucidation and leant against the doorframe. "_I'm_ gonna go see Sesshoumaru and find out some more details about retrieving the deed. _You_ are going to stay right here and NOT tag along."

"'Tag along'?" Kagome repeated, incredulous as she stood. "What? You think you're going to go off by yourself and see Sesshoumaru?"

"I don't think so, I AM. You don't need to get mixed up in this, Kagome."

"But I already am." She locked gazes with him. Kagome began to count reasons off on her fingers. "I released you from the spell, you live here, you're my fiancée, and Tetsusaiga was technically mine before you came — I have the right to go with you, and you're not going to stop me." At the last statement, she let her hand drop to her side, shaking her raven-haired head defiantly once.

"Don't be stupid!" protested Inuyasha, stepping right into her face. "If Naraku finds out you're involved more than you already are, you and your family could be in serious trouble, Kagome."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

Kagome near-shouted, "You're not invincible, Inuyasha! And if it's true that Naraku sent those bees into the mini-shrine, we already are in 'serious trouble'." Frustration and worry lighted her face.

Inuyasha let out a growled exhale. "Kagome, I'm trying to keep you safe. Naraku is after me, not you."

"Let me go with you," she pleaded again, visage carved by tenderness. "I told you earlier that we'll face everything _together_—and I really meant it."

The hanyou felt his own unyielding mask soften as his fiancée looked so beseechingly at him. "Kagome," he said quietly, just as silently and unwittingly as he took her hand into his, "I don't want to see you or your family get hurt because of me. I wouldn't be able to bear that guilt." He squeezed her hand gently, feeling her silky skin against his calloused palm.

The blue diamond-sparkling eyes of Kagome remained fixed on the hanyou-boy's molten ones. "Please, Inuyasha…" she whispered.

"…I did agree with you, Kagome…that we'd face anything that came our way together…. As much as I hate to expose you to danger, I will let you come with me when I go to Sesshoumaru's. It probably would be best if you knew anyway."

"I'm not worried about being in danger. You said you wanted to protect us, Inuyasha, and I know you will." She smiled faintly, yet warmly.

Inuyasha only peered musingly at her, but lovingly so. _I promise I will._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rolling onto her side, Kagome stared listlessly at the window. Buyo mewed something out of protest from the foot of her bed, but the girl didn't pay him any mind. Curling the covers up to her chin, she heard the weak tinkle of the bell of her analog clock. _Three in the morning…. _Kagome watched the glistening lights from the other side of the city diffuse into the frosted glass.

_It's so cold in here,_ she thought, feeling Buyo swagger lethargically up to her face and flop down before licking the tip of her nose. Divulging a hand from the pocket of warmth to scratch the calico's head, the girl slightly smiled as he began to purr and his yellow eyes squint happily up. The bit of heat the feline gave off was pleasant, but Kagome still couldn't force down the shiver that touched her bare toes.

_Why is it so darn cold in here?_ _And why does the bed feel so big? _Eyelids slipping together, Kagome allowed her mind to wander—searching for the answer. They slid open again, coming to a conclusion. _Inuyasha used to sleep in here…. He used to generate a lot of body heat, so I was always toasty warm. _She adjusted her position on the soft mattress again. _He took up plenty of room--he was an awful big dog, after all. I guess I just miss having him nearby…after all this time; I've just gotten so used to having him in here…_

Quietly, Kagome got out of bed, carefully placing Buyo on the pillow before sneaking downstairs like she had the night before.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha tried to get comfortable on the futon, but it didn't seem right. Yesterday, it seemed perfectly fine, since he had been a bit tired from transforming and everything and it being as late as it was that night. But tonight, Inuyasha just wasn't used to the feel of the thin mattress. He'd lain every which way. He had pulled on blankets and kicked off blankets. He'd even tried sleeping against the wall—having been moved from the den to his bedroom, formerly known as 'home base'.

No matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed right, it seemed like something was missing.

For the past few hours, Inuyasha had spent some time thinking about his life thus far, whilst staring at the dark ceiling high above him. As a hanyou, he'd lived for seventeen years, and as a dog he'd gained an extra fifty. While his life wasn't filled with the best things through and through, and even though right now he was in a bit of indirect jeopardy—and engaged to boot--, living with the Higurashi family had proved to be a wonderful thing, dog or hanyou he was the most content he'd been in a very long time.

"Inuyasha?"

"Huh?" Looking from the rafters to the cracked-open slider, Inuyasha saw Kagome, dressed in the same purple pants and purple cat shirt she'd worn the night before. "Hey, what're you doing up?" he asked, rising his back out of his earlier sit-up position. He slung his arms over his knees and let his hands hang down in the gap between his legs.

"I couldn't sleep." Kagome walked over and sat down beside him. "Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep." Turning to the futon and giving it a light punch, he said, "I can't get comfortable. I don't mind it being dark in here, but something seems off."

She nodded. "I know what you mean."

The starting pings of hail stones tatting against the shrine sounded in the brief silence.

Inuyasha gazed to Kagome again. "Just what we need: more hail. Last time I got stuck in the thick of it on my way to Sesshoumaru's. That was fucking annoying."

"It was awful. There's probably going to be a lot of unhappy people with dented cars." Kagome traced a circle with her index finger on the futon. "It's really chilly in my room, and I can hear the hail in there. It can get really loud sometimes. I…" She felt the blood rush to her face. "I was wondering if I…if I could sleep in here with you…" she barely managed.

"Uh…" Inuyasha's ears began to grow warm. "I—I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, Kagome," replied a squeaky-voiced Inuyasha.

"I don't mean anything bad! I just mean…like…cuddle or something--like before, you know?" By this point, Kagome's voice had faded to a near inaudible timbre.

"I, uh…" Inuyasha blinked widely, gaze darting to the solitary pillow on the solitary futon. "I g-guess that would be ok…. I mean, it's 'cause you're cold, right?"

"Yeah…" _Basically._ Wriggling beneath the comforter, Kagome laid down. "Well, um, good night, Inuyasha. Sweet dreams."

He nodded once, ears twitching to the rhythm of the falling hail. "Yeah, you too." It wasn't until Kagome had made herself comfortable and her breathing became even that Inuyasha flopped down beside her. The gentle scent of rose touched his nose coupled with her quiet warmth near him, and he relaxed.

After all, he had regained what was missing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Whew. I hope this was good fluff. I wasn't expecting this at first, but Inu and Kag wanted this so I did. Thanks for all the reviews. I can't remember if there was anything else I was going to say, so for now, I will say "later".

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. Thank you, Mom, for the title; I was really stuck.


	19. Until Spring

_Disclaimer: _Still this little legal problem…

A/N: I have to use a time breaker thing because the other ones aren't showing up now. sigh

I can't think of much right now on questions, but the story still has some surprises left to it. But, about Gramps: people have layers (people are probably thinking "like onions" "what about parfaits? Parfaits have layers") and Gramps is no exception. So, I took some poetic license with a minor character. It makes the story a bit more interesting. A lot of you want to know what Inu's going to do about Kouga…and, well, that'll play out later, I suppose. It's not on the agenda for the moment, but I'm sure they'll encounter one another. Kagome doesn't know "Taisho" kissed her because she was asleep at the time. The bruises on Inu's hands are from the fact he was loathe to hurting Gramps, but Gramps wasn't slow to smack him quite a few times, so it would bruise anyone. The bruises are gone in case you're wondering, so Inuyasha is not a weakling…. That's about all I can think of at the moment.

_Chapter Nineteen: __Until Spring_

"Thanks, Kagome," Inuyasha said, sliding the red sports jacket over his tight, black t-shirt.

She grinned, neatly folding up the rest of his clothes and tucking them away in the small trunk from the attic. A shower and a few new outfits later, Kagome had to admit her hanyou looked quite attractive.

Judging from the way he ran his claws through his hair, she figured he appreciated the wonderful thing known as shampoo as well.

The morning after the cuddle-night, two nights ago, Kagome and Mama had stopped by a local retail store and purchased Inuyasha some clothing of his own. When the unsuspecting boy had emerged from practice with Grampa covered in glistening sweat today, they'd sent him straight to the shower—to which Souta had to show him how to operate—and laid the new garments on top of the towels in the cupboard where he would see them.

It was pretty funny, and fairly embarrassing, when he opened the door, yelling, "Are these for me?" with only a towel secured dangerously around his waist and Tetsusaiga in hand.

"I'm glad you like them." Kagome shut the lid of the trunk and sat atop it. "How's practicing with Gramps going?"

"Pretty good." He flexed his fingers, seeing the purplish lines had disappeared without a trace. "I can do more than just hold my own now."

She smiled. "Grampa actually taught me how to use a sword, and he wanted me to practice with you."

"Well, why don't you?" Inuyasha challenged, crossing his arms over his chest and leering at her.

Shaking her head, Kagome responded, "You're way too good—I saw you practicing yesterday. Besides, I'm nowhere near as good as Gramps." Getting to her feet again, the girl queried, "You said you weren't going to see Sesshoumaru until you were human, so when is that?"

Inuyasha moved to the doorjamb and reclined. "I checked the calendar in your room, so it'll be happening tonight." His eyes slid shut.

"Why couldn't it have been a different night? Why tonight?"

"It's the time of my mortal vulnerability, dolt. Anyway," golden eyes reopened, "since you're tagging along, we'll leave right after my transformation. It's a long walk to Sesshoumaru's mansion, so be prepared."

Kagome tapped a finger against her lips. "Maybe we could take a cab…. I have some money upstairs in my purse, let me go check." She jogged passed him and upstairs.

Most people would have either snuck out or have a parent drive them wherever they wanted to go, but Kagome understood, somewhere deep in her very core, that this was something to be treated with utmost delicateness, with as few involved as possible It was like a giant black cloud was looming over her thoughts, yet she could not find the reason for it to be there, and that disturbed her greatly.

Kagome dug out her money and counted it. There was plenty from Christmas and what she had saved from her birthday a few months back. It felt like so long ago, her fifteenth birthday--the day she got Inuyasha. She had always sensed this sort of connection with him, as if person to person, rather than human to animal. Confident it could pay for a one-way fare from Tokyo to Sagamihara at the very least; Kagome replaced it in her wallet.

Her gaze flickered to the calendar hanging on the wall. She crept over to it and peeked at the date. It stated the day and date like always, so she thought a little harder of what would make this one day so out-of-the-ordinary. She stared at it for a moment until it came to her.

A little black circle with the characters for "New Moon" spelt out. _That must be it…his power ebbs away just as the moon does from sight, _Kagome contemplated. _It's the only logical thing. _The overhead light of her room was not on, and it was growing darker. _It won't be long then…until night comes and human Inuyasha appears._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner was quiet, and Inuyasha wasn't present. It bothered Souta a lot that his new big brother was not there, and Kagome didn't say a word. She figured it wasn't her place to go blabbing.

It was when Mama was serving lemon squares that Inuyasha appeared, hands jammed into the pockets of his blue jeans with Tetsusaiga still at his left hip. He had changed into the form Kagome would have formerly dubbed "Taisho". For the second time that he'd changed form, the Higurashi family—minus Kagome and Buyo, who stole some chicken from Grampa's plate—gaped in wonder.

"Sorry for not showing up, Mrs. Higurashi," Inuyasha stated, breaking the stupefied spell. "I already ate earlier. Kagome, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." She picked up two lemon squares and folded them into the cloth napkin she had yet to use sitting in her lap.

"Kagome," Mama started, setting the plate of treats down, "where are you and Inuyasha going?"

"I'm taking Kagome with me on some family business," the hanyou answered, a pair of red high tops in his grasp. "That guy that came a little over a month ago, Tanaka Sesshoumaru, is my older brother. He and I've set up a meeting since I've returned to normal."

"Why are you going like a human, Inuyasha?" Souta asked with a lemon square up to his mouth.

He shrugged. "Supposed to. Come on, Kagome. I already called the cab, so it should be showing up pretty soon."

Kagome pushed her chair out and padded over to him. "We'll be fine, Mom. Besides, you and Grampa probably wanted me to get to know Inuyasha better, right?"

"Of course, honey," Mama answered. "Even so, be careful, you two."

"We will." The couple had then exited the kitchen and promptly snatched the necessities for trekking outside before venturing out to the street below the shrine. They hadn't waited long when the cabbie showed up and the pair got in, while the former-hanyou gave the address.

Inuyasha seemed a little nervous, only muttered that it'd been a while since he'd been in a car in this form; luckily the driver was a human and didn't catch the utterance. He accepted the lemon square his companion offered him and chewed it thoughtfully.

The drive was fairly quiet, the cabbie making polite conversation. "So, you two headin' home?"

"His brother's," Kagome replied softly, watching the snow outside dance.

"Ah. First time meeting him?"

"Sort of." They hit a particularly nasty bump, and Kagome lurched into Inuyasha's chest. She clung to him for a moment until the series of potholes the small vehicle careened over smoothed back into a normal road. With her face flaming scarlet, as it seemed to do so often when in his company, she mumbled, "S-sorry."

"It's ok." Inuyasha saw his arms had automatically held her to him and swallowed a lump of nervousness that rose to his throat. He released her slowly, and turned his interest to the bobble-head baseball player on the car's dashboard.

Kagome moved from the spot to which she'd been tossed and reclined on the seat again, but decided keeping a close proximity with her betrothed was actually nice. For one, he generated a lot of body heat, and two, it kept her from feeling so distanced from him.

For the remainder of the ride, Inuyasha sat with his arms crossed laxly over his chest with his eyes at half-mast while Kagome kept her hands in her lap, just brushing shoulders with him, or rather her shoulder to his upper arm—he was a bit taller than her.

After the half hour ride, they arrived at the great mansion. Paying the cabbie, Kagome and Inuyasha went to the gate again where the boy gave the gatekeeper grief. At the door they were greeted by Jaken, who looked anti-thrilled to see the two of them, yet he let them in nonetheless.

"Be sure to take your filthy shoes off, humans," snapped Jaken. "I do not need you to disrespect Master Sesshoumaru's house any more!"

"Hey, Jaken, do us both a favor and shut up," Inuyasha bit, placing his shoes alongside his fiancée's at the landing; a butler respectfully took their coats.

"Hmph. This way." Toddling quickly ahead of them, Jaken lead them to a large library. Seated amongst the book-lined walls was Sesshoumaru, who was thumbing disinterestedly through an older looking tome. "Master Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha and this girl—"

"I know, Jaken," he replied smoothly, flipping another page, eyes not even darting up. "See if the other two are in the foyer."

"Y-yes, Master."

Sesshoumaru waited until his servant hustled out of the room to do his bidding before speaking again. "Inuyasha, I see you and Kagome have arrived. I was not expecting to see you so soon, Miss Higurashi."

"I wanted to know what was going on."

"And Inuyasha told you?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes."

The dog-demon gave a vague twitch of his lips that would have constituted as a smile as he set the book to the side of the chair. "Then my brother has more brains in his head than I thought if I he at least told you what you had a right to know."

Inuyasha grumped, arms practically fastened across his chest again. "I'm right here, ya know!" he snipped.

"Overlooking you would be quite a task, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru rose and Jaken burst into the room again.

"They're ready!" he squawked before saluting and taking off again.

"Excellent. Come." Gliding to the door and beckoning them with a hand, the couple trotted after him down the steps. Rounding the staircase, Sesshoumaru stopped fore a set of double doors. Without turning, he said, "The operative that first reported seeing you is here, Inuyasha." Then, he pushed them forward.

On the couch was Ms. Kaede, sipping a cup of tea, and there was someone seated across from here that neither Inuyasha nor Kagome could see, as all they could see was the chair he or she was sitting in.

"Ms. Kaede, you know Sesshoumaru?" Kagome queried, amazed.

"Indeed I do, child." She set her cup down. "I was not expecting to see you, but I am glad all the same."

"Kagome's here, too?" the person in the chair asked, and before the girl could register, the owner the voiced bopped up and embraced her. "This is a surprise!"

Kagome blinked once. When she was allowed to push away, she looked up at the smiling face of Miroku. "What're _you _doing here?"

He grinned all the more. "This is my job. I work for Sesshoumaru."

"Wait a second," began Inuyasha, shoving the young man off the girl. "You mean to tell me _you're_ his operative."

"Yes. I was the one who told him of you coming to the Higurashi shrine. That was what I was doing while I was in the city last month, Kagome." Said female nodded, intrigued. Miroku gestured to the sofa. "I'm sure Sesshoumaru wants you to sit, am I right?"

The demon nodded once before sweeping into another chair while his operative returned to his own.

Kagome did as suggested and sat in the corner of a loveseat, but Inuyasha remained standing. "I can understand the kid working for Sesshoumaru, but what about you, old woman?" he asked Kaede.

Ms. Kaede finished off her tea, and then answered. "Miroku knows I am the vet that the Higurashi family has been taking Buyo to, and no doubt would take you as well, Inuyasha." She leant back into the cushions, smiling slightly at Kagome before gazing again at the human boy who glared at her in annoyance. "Digging through my family history, they were able to find out more about me, and naturally they could put two and two together and find miko training in my past."

"You're a miko, too?"

She bobbed her head, sweeping back a strand of white hair from her face. "Yes, Inuyasha. Tell me, up until the collar came off, did Kagome understand you better?"

Blinking once, Inuyasha joggled his noggin. "How'd you figure that?"

The old woman reached over the arm of her sofa and touched a hand to Kagome's arm, making the girl look to her in mild surprise. "I have said to you before that she is a miko-in-training, and it seems her powers are maturing without help. Yet, I suppose there was help in being able to understand you in your dog-form, as a bond was forming between the two of you, one that didn't necessarily have to have words."

"So, because you knew this about me, Sesshoumaru kept in contact?" Kagome peered at the woman questioningly.

"Besides that, I suppose another reason why Sesshoumaru needed me around was the fact that Kikyou is my older sister."

"What?!" The girl blinked. "N-no way."

Kaede leaned forward and took the tea pot that sat on the table and poured herself another cup. "It is very true, Kagome. I was a child when Inuyasha was transfigured."

Inuyasha came around the table and stared at the vet. "Why don't I ever remember seeing you with her then, Kaede?"

She stirred in some sugar. "Kikyou had started sending me to boarding school in Switzerland, as that way I wouldn't have to suffer much more than homesickness. Naraku took over paying for it, and I ended up graduating from a Swiss university. I only came home to visit around the holidays, and Kikyou continued to move, though she eventually settled on a house, but so we never had Christmas in the home we'd grown up in. A majority of the time, we spent them in Naraku's large estate in Kamaishi.

"My sister had started training me in the miko arts when I was a very small girl, and I continued to practice and follow the exercises she outlined for me while away at school. Due to that, it gives me an insight when it comes to understanding my patients." Giving a light chuckle, Kaede lifted the teacup to her lips.

"Did she ever tell you why she turned me into a dog?" Inuyasha inquired, aware of the passively interested face of his brother and the curious one of Miroku.

"All she said was that she had to, for your own good." She drank her tea quietly, even while Inuyasha indistinctly cursed.

"That fucking bitch!" He punched the couch. "Gods, I wish I could strangle the truth out of her."

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat. "Kaede has been extremely helpful, and will be in the future." His pale gold eyes flickered to his brother. "I see you have Tetsusaiga with you. It is a relief to see you didn't do something stupid like leaving it unprotected."

"I'm not an idiot, you know," groused the boy, flopping beside his fiancée on the loveseat.

The dog-demon merely raised an eyebrow before continuing on. "We will go to the mausoleum in the spring."

"Why not now?" Inuyasha smirked. "You're not scared or something, are you, Sesshoumaru?"  
"Do not make yourself sound stupider than necessary, Inuyasha." He folded his hands into the open prayer position as he did the last time the human-Inuyasha had been present. "The snow is high and it covers the doors, which open outwards. Besides, I do not want to track snow into Father's grave."

Inuyasha slouched, keeping eye contact with his brother. "So as soon as we have the deed, this whole escapade should end, right?"

"As long as we keep a hold on it, yes."

Jaken skated into the room. "Miroku, Master Sesshoumaru, the new operative has shown up," he panted.

Miroku, who had been listening with half-attention, leapt to his feet. "I'll go greet her. Oh, you have my thanks, Sesshoumaru," he said quickly, giving a bow in tandem. "As I have told you before, I assure you that having her around will not be a burden but a blessing." Miroku hastened out of the room, a bright smile across his visage.

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other inquisitively.

"Someone else you know," Sesshoumaru supplied. "Jaken, go check on the girls."

Jaken visibly flinched. He sighed—this was going to mean another rousing round of dress-up-Jaken. Which would they prefer today: the pink party dress or the booties, pacifier, and diaper? "Of course, Master Sesshoumaru." Sauntering out of the room, the ugly toad demon disappeared.

"How's she doing?" Inuyasha asked, his violet eyes now serious as he sat up a tad higher.

Kagome looked from the eldest brother to the other. "How's who doing?"

"The girl Inuyasha rescued," came Sesshoumaru's answer, another faint smile on his lips. "She is doing quite well. Her name is Rin, and she and my daughter Yuki have become fast friends. She is a talkative child, but it's brought Yuki out of the shyness."

"Well, glad to know she's doing fine." Inuyasha resettled into his slouch in the cushions; Kagome could see the small grin on his face at the news.

"She has wanted to see you, but this is passed her bedtime. Perhaps another day you could visit her."

He nodded. "Sure, I guess."

A shout and a smack sound later, Miroku reappeared in the room, continuing to beam cheerfully, despite the red hand impression on his left cheek. "It was worth the pain…" he mumbled to himself. "Now I bring to you, another member of our little powwow…the lovely Miss Sango!"

"Oh, shut up, Miroku," the girl sighed, now standing abreast to him in the entryway. She grinned. "Hey, Kagome. I wasn't expecting to see you."

Kagome dubiously stared. "Does everyone and his mother know the inside scoop of what's going on except me?" Regardless that Inuyasha had explained so much to her, there were a lot of things that were taking her by surprise.

Sango laughed. "No. Just us here in this room. Hmm?" She tipped her head to the side and stepped in a bit further. "Inuyasha sure looks different than I thought he would—black hair and violet eyes. I honestly thought he'd look more like you, Sesshoumaru."

Said dog demon kept a cool gaze on his brother while he said in a tone just as calm, "This is his human time, when our Father's blood ebbs away and his human mother's takes fully over."

"Geez, tell the whole world, why don't you?" groused Inuyasha, peering up at Sango.

Sango innocently held up her hands. "I won't go telling anyone, I promise."

"Keh, you better not."

"Sango," began Kagome, more confused than ever, "what exactly are you going to do?"

"Well," she crossed over and promptly sat in Miroku's chair, "I'm going to be his training partner to make sure he can actually fight someone faster and younger. I hope I can get a chance to use Hiraikotsu against him. It'll be a nice change of pace to get to use it besides during tournament time."

Kagome nodded, remembering all the competitions she'd seen Sango in. Those competitions were held by the old demon slayers guild, which now specialized in killing minor demons and playing bounty hunter with the sentient ones that wouldn't stay under the law's jurisdiction. The tournaments were meant as practice, and though Sango's father was the head of the guild and organized the contest, no one could say that Sango didn't win by talent and skill.

"What the hell's Hiraikotsu?" Now it was Inuyasha's turn to get ringed in befuddlement circles.

"It's my boomerang bone, made out of the bone of slain demons." She struggled stifling a giggle at the look on his face "Don't worry—the demons that donated the bones are the kind of stupid ones, like your average caterpillar or centipede monster."

"As you can see, little brother," said Sesshoumaru, turning the attention of the group to him once more, "Sango will help make you suitable for battle at your full strength, and will be able to take care of any of Naraku's operatives, should they come around."

One of Inuyasha's hands fiddled with the zipper of his sports jacket, as he mused slightly. "You mean those weird bee demons."

Kaede set her cup back on its saucer with a soft clink. "Those are the Saimyoushou—or better known as the wasps of hell. Befitting for Naraku, don't you think? Their poison is severe to those it stings. If it weren't for the fact you had your hanyou blood all along, Inuyasha, you would have died very quickly. Be grateful to the Higurashis for attending to you before taking you to me."

He snapped, "I _am_ grateful, you old hag."

"In any case," Sesshoumaru interrupted his brother's tirade, "Miroku has spiritual training as a Buddhist monk, which I'm sure your fiancé knows quite well."

The monk gave a lopsided smile to Kagome. "By the way, congratulations on finding him, or him finding you. You've always planned on having a family, so I suppose it's a good thing you didn't get him neutered."

"Miroku!" The girl's countenance flamed red, aghast at how he could say something so _wrong_ and be laughing about it.

Inuyasha lobbed a pillow at him, making contact with the side of his face. "Shut it, monk. I'm not the one who needs to be fixed. I'm taking a wild guess here that Sango slapped you—and considering she's keeping away from you, I'd say something inappropriate."

"I simply appreciate the bounty of gifts Buddha gave her."

"Unfortunately," Sango's brown eyes snapped, "he appreciates my rear most often than not."

Kagome snickered. _Oh, but you weren't thinking that when you and Miroku had that little kiss in the photo booth, or that tryst for part of break…_

Miroku sighed, shaking his head. "Dear Sango, you must understand…Buddha says to treat all living things tenderly as they are beautiful to kami, and your behind just happens to be amongst them. I would not be fulfilling my duty as a monk otherwise."

"Right," she responded tartly.

"Your brother will be sending me to you and Kagome whenever he has a message to deliver," Miroku said, ending his banter with Sango. "I doubt all of us will convene soon. Probably not until the spring."

"You suppose correctly," Sesshoumaru agreed, moving his hand up to comb his claws through his hair, deadpanned. "Sango will be over everyday so she can train with you, Miroku and Kaede will continue to try and find the prophesy, I will continue to keep an eye on Naraku with my other operatives; you, Kagome," the girl glimpsed at him with a start, "are to continue to act normally but keep quiet about what you know and are not to speak of it with anyone other than those present."

"What about my family?" she asked, playing with her skirt.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, silver hair catching light and shimmering. "No. Just give them a believable excuse."

"Like 'family business'?" Kagome glanced at Inuyasha who gave her a smirk. "It's partially true. I mean, this has to deal with Inuyasha's family."

"That will work. There is not much more to discuss." The dog demon rose to his feet, and everyone who was seated followed suit. Looking to Inuyasha and Kagome, he stated, "I will have my driver take you home. Miroku, you can take Sango back; Kaede, I believe you drove yourself."

The vet nodded. "I did. Are you sure you are not forgetting something, Sesshoumaru?"

"Oh, yes." A lilted smile crossed Sesshoumaru's face, and Inuyasha instantly knew there was something to dread. "Little brother, I can't have Naraku know you are alive and come after you. So, we have to make certain he still can't find you, we will keep you incognito when outside the shrine."

"What do you mean?" charily inquired the boy.

"Slip on the collar and masquerade as a dog. I'm sure Kagome is able to remove the collar again."

"WHAT?!"

A/N: These info chapters are hard to write. Still, it was necessary. Luckily I have stuff planned for the next chapters, a little bit less info driven, but not without purpose, I assure you. Sorry for not updating sooner, but I got to relax at a friend's house, and then I've been a tad busy, and my 17th birthday is on Saturday the 26th of June, so I'm kind of excited and a little restless. Anyway, see you the next chapter.

Ja ne,

Moonlight Shadow


	20. Bending the Rules

A/N: Don't worry so much about Inu's predicament. –laughs- He'll live. Besides, it's only if he wants to escape into the outside world. There will be much fun going on, oh yes. I'm starting to see that I have to listen to my Lord of the Rings CD when I'm typing this. (It's the one from "Return of the King".)

For the record, all I really know about Japanese New Year I learned from Takahashi's "Maison Ikkoku". So, that's not much, so a lot of this might be a bit of stuff that came off the top of my head. Just…I'm an American! And I currently don't have internet and can't check online so…just think of it as a Westernized New Years celebration….

"Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness—great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy." –Jim Rohn

_Chapter Twenty: __Bending the Rules_

"'I'm sure Kagome can take the collar off again…' Keh! Easy enough for him to say."

"Do you mind, Inuyasha? You've been at it the last three days." Kagome flipped lazily through the channels. "Just drop it ok?"

Inuyasha grumbled but piped down from his perch on the couch.

Kagome could understand his distress—having to be put into a curse he had endured for fifty years because of some sort of weird safety issue had to be even more torturous, but she had begun to carry the collar in her pocket just in case she ever had to use it all the same, which so far had not been once. Nevertheless, her hanyou had only been in his real form for about five days and six nights—if excluding the night of the new moon. Still, complaining about it wasn't going to help any.

Sighing, the girl was vaguely aware that the ten second countdown for the New Year was in about forty-five minutes. Right now people were watching for some giant ball to drop, the clocks to change, parties to start, or for the end of the world to come. Mama, Souta, and Gramps had gone ahead to enjoy the celebration with their fans, kimonos, and money.

Mama had felt awful leaving the pair behind while the rest got to enjoy ringing in the New Years. Everyone had worked equally hard today as so many visitors came during the open hours of the shrine and said prayers, and bought trinkets and fortunes. It had taken some persuasion, but Kagome had managed to get her mother to have fun—that she and Inuyasha would be fine by themselves.

With much reluctance in his voice, Inuyasha had told her she could go with her family, but Kagome wouldn't hear a word of it. She had simply stated she was going to stick beside him and keep him company—Buyo couldn't possibly be that enthralling. He had probably thought she couldn't see him, but she had caught the look of relief that crossed his face.

For the last two hours or so, the strident whistling of fireworks erupting in the distance hummed in the still air of the living room between Kagome and Inuyasha. There had not been much to speak about. To be honest, they cleared up a lot of mixed up details the night they met with Sesshoumaru, and neither was in a particularly chattering mood at the moment.

Buyo was curled up on top of the TV, while Kagome remained bundled under her favorite galaxy-patterned fleece blanket on the floor in front of Inuyasha. Said half-demon was still muttering to himself with his hands joined behind his head and pillowing it as he stretched out.

"I can't take this any more!" suddenly burst Inuyasha, flying forward into a sitting position.

Kagome whirled quickly. "Can't take what?"

"The fact that until we get the deed from my old man's grave, I have to play coward while the rest of the world is free to do whatever stupid shit it may. I'm stuck hanging around the house like a prisoner." He slumped back into the couch, livid.

"Inuyasha," the girl shut the television off, "getting angry about it and bemoaning the fact isn't going to make it go away. Sesshoumaru doesn't want you to get hurt or killed and have Naraku take hold of your family's land. Is that what _you_ want?"

He snorted. "No. But I don't wanna be cooped up like a jailbird, either. I've had enough of that."

"I'm sure you have. It must have been really hard…" her voice drifted off, quietly, almost as if she had vicariously experienced his woes through the amber eyes that beheld them. "It's just so you can be safe so no one sees you."

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment, and Kagome turned around again, staring at the blank screen. "You know, Kagome, it's hard to see things when it's dark." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yeah, and your point is?"

Rolling off the couch, he replied, smirking as she thought he would be, "It'll be really hard for anyone to see me well. So…"

Kagome peered at him when he crouched beside her. Waggling her head incredulous at the crazy idea that came to her mind, she posed her thought to him. "You're not saying we should sneak out…are you, Inuyasha?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it sneaking." He stood to his full height. "It's more like enjoying the last hour before the New Year. Come on, let's go."

"No way!" She leapt to her feet. "Inuyasha! We can't just leave like that!" She snapped her fingers in front of his nose to emphasize her point. "What if one of the people working for Naraku sees you? No, we can't risk you doing something that scatterbrained. There's too much at stake."

Leveling a glare with her, Inuyasha folded his arms over his torso. "Fine then. Stay home if you're chicken."

"It's not a matter of bravery, stupid!" she exasperatedly bickered back. "It's a matter of using your brain!"

"So you're scared then."

"I am not. I just don't want something bad to happen. Let's just stay and watch the countdown on TV."

"You don't really wanna spend a New Year at home, do you?" He gave her that penetrating look, the kind that forces you to tell the inalienable truth.

Kagome squirmed uncomfortably, yet kept her unyielding stare on him. "I am willing to stay home if that means you won't get hurt, Inuyasha."

"Heh." The half-demon smirked once more. "I won't get hurt. Come on. I can tell by your scent alone that you don't want to be here. You'd rather be having some fun, too."

"Leave my scent out this—that's personal property, but…" she paused thoughtfully, "it _is _dark…." Kagome shook her head vigorously. "No, Inuyasha, and that's that."

Peering at her for a second, Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself then. I'm going out. See ya." He made for the entryway where his coat and shoes awaited.

"I-Inuyasha!" Scrambling over to him, Kagome grabbed hold of his forearm as he stuffed his feet into his sneakers. "You can't go out by yourself," she scolded, hearing that oh-so-familiar big sister voice come out of her mouth.

"Then get your stuff on and let's go." Inuyasha turned to her. "It'll only be until the New Year rings in, then we'll come home--simple as that."

"W-well…" Kagome was sorely tempted, and it _would _only be for less than an hour. "I suppose if it's _just_ this once, and it _will _be dark…but as soon as the next year comes, we have to come _right_ back."

"All right!" the hanyou cheered with a proud smile. "Hurry up." He grabbed her coat and tossed it at her.

"Hey!" She caught it and balled the gloves together and tucked them into the side pocket before putting it on. Kagome waggled a finger at Inuyasha, looking to him sternly. "We're not going to be doing this all the time. I'm only going to turn a blind eye this once, so this is my bad deed from this year. I don't want the next year to start off with bad karma." She snatched Souta's oversized baseball cap from the peg. "Wear this."

Inuyasha only smirked as he slid the door open.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The snow had melted away quickly like every short-lived snowy winter in Japan. Puddles of water collected in the depressions of the stone courtyard from where shrine-goers had tramped up and down for over five hundred years. It was a bit nippy, like autumn, but undeniably still winter; until the spring equinox, it would remain that season.

The pair scooted to the street, able to duck passed the people milling about the sidewalk. Some of the folks were wearing traditional kimonos, while others were donning Western clothes.

Inuyasha had jammed the cap on his head, complaining that it tickled the finite hairs on the inside of his ears, though it did help to muffle the screeching fireworks bursting in the air.

After the initial bout of anxiousness, Kagome had only been plagued by the remnant culpable nerves that twanged as each minute ticked away. "Where do you want to go?" she asked as they paced down the concrete walkway. "Mom, Grampa, and Souta went to some festival over by the park.

"Guess we can just walk around until we find something interesting," Inuyasha said with a shrug.

"I don't want to get too far away from home. Shouldn't we leave a trail or something?" Kagome glanced back nervously. She was _seriously_ starting to get second thoughts about this. Maybe this would carry over into the next year and bite her in the rear…

"Oh, sure, Gretel," he sneered, tucking his hands into his pockets, "we can leave a trail of breadcrumbs and hope a hobo doesn't come by and eat them beforehand."

"Just shut up, Inuyasha."

With a chuckle, the hanyou continued to walk along with a fidgety miko-in-training at his side.

There was so much excitement that Inuyasha felt like a little kid in a candy store (though he wasn't making himself out to be Hansel). To be honest, he wasn't sure what to check out first. For the first time in fifty years, he was not only hanyou, but outdoors amongst the populace and to be honest he really was thrilled. Maybe a bit cautious, but still very much tickled.

A posturing gang of teenage guys were setting off some firecrackers on the tarmac while a couple of girls made pouting faces at them.

Kagome and Inuyasha both rolled their eyes distastefully as they passed by.

"What a bunch of losers," he muttered, kicking a burnt-out bottle rocket off the edge of the curb.

"What'd you say?" one of guys shouted, his lighter in hand.

"I called you a loser, loser."

"Inuyasha," Kagome tugged on his arm, whispering urgently, "don't…"

He ignored her.

The guy that spoke stood up. Judging from the spikes that protruded from his arms, and the scales at the base of them, he was some form of reptilian demon. "You want to fight with me, pup?"

Inuyasha snorted. "I normally don't like to fight infants or ignoramuses, and you happen to be both."

He sniffed once, tongue tip darting out slightly, and then exhaling sharply. "You hanyou bastard." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain of firecrackers. "Shut the hell up." He lit the fuse and threw it at the couple, having an open shot.

Snagging Kagome around the waist, Inuyasha jumped them out of the way of the explosives, hearing them bang into the ground with loud pops. Landing on the other side of the street, the hanyou tucked his fiancée behind him. "Wait here, Kagome."

"Inuyasha…" She tugged on his sleeve; so far this was turning out badly for their little covert excursion. "Inuyasha, please, just leave it alone. This isn't worth your time."

"Are you saying I'm worthless, bitch?" the guy asked, approaching them. His buddies remained in the middle of the street, looking as intelligent as they were acting--guffawing boisterously.

Kagome swallowed, voice locking up on her. "I…" she stammered weakly, peeking around Inuyasha's elbow.

"Well, bitch?!" he barked again, his foot just stepping onto the curb of their side of the street.

Inuyasha ripped away from her and charged the demonic youth. "Leave her the hell out of this!" Faster than an eye blink, he'd rushed over and slugged the boy with a strong right hook.

The reptilian demon flew rearwards and struck into a streetlamp with a sound thud. His friends and the flirtatious girls gaped in awe as their pal fell face-first to kiss the blacktop, and then to Inuyasha.

Straightening up, Inuyasha leveled them all with a brazen glare while Kagome trotted up next to him, just as wide-eyed. "Are you crazy?" She shook his shoulder before grabbing his wrist; she glanced rearwards, seeing a pair of uniformed officers heading their way. "Let's get going before you really get into trouble…"

Allowing his molten gaze to linger on the group just long enough to make them writhe, he let Kagome lead him away. When they were finally far enough away from the shell-shocked minute crowd, he asked, "Why didn't you just let me continue to wail on his sorry ass? It's not like his little friends were going to challenge me."

"Even so," she said levelly, turning a corner, continuing to drag him along like a small child, "what if that guy had a gun on him or something? You could be really messed up, you know. You sure have some nerve, Inuyasha." They finally came to a rest in front of a closed florist shop, the huge screen from downtown Tokyo flashing eleven forty-four. Kagome stared him down the same way a wife does to her husband when he does something she finds incredibly stupid that made her worry. "If you cause too much of a stir, Naraku might hear about it and that's the last thing we need. Now, don't pick any more fights."

"I didn't pick a fight," Inuyasha argued. "That guy started talking shit to me!"

"Only after you started saying stuff about him! Use your brain and knock this off!"

"Hmph." He turned his head away. He could hear her teeth grind slightly, even amongst the din of pyrotechnics coming from the baseball stadium.

After counting to ten, Kagome released a long breath. "Let's not start off this year badly. Let's just go find a place to watch the fireworks, ok? That was why we came out here to begin with, wasn't it?"

Inuyasha faced her again. "I guess. It's not like we can go many other places, right?"

"Nope."

"So, where do we go…?"

They had been mulling over it for a while, and it was about to prove pointless, when Kagome snapped her fingers with a smile and a giggle. "I have the perfect idea."

"What's that?" Inuyasha continued to peer through the window glass at the geraniums in the window.

"Well, you can see most of Tokyo from the rooftop of my school. Why don't we sit up there and watch the fireworks? No one would be able to see us very well, so we could watch the countdown for the New Year, and be able to get home quicker than everyone else."

He nodded, finally tearing away from the florist shop window. "Sounds like a plan. How far is your school?"

"Um…" Kagome looked to and fro, trying to remember her way around. "About three blocks from here. It's right down this street."

"Get on."

"Huh?" She looked to the spot where Inuyasha had stood, and panned her gaze down to where he crouched. "What?"

"Climb on, girl. It'll go faster this way. "

Kagome clambered on. "Sure this won't hurt your back?"

"Keh. You don't weigh that much." He rose a bit. "Hang on tight."

"'k." Before Kagome realized, it, they were moving at a swift pace, and their surroundings melted away. Kagome had never moved this quickly before and it was such a spine-tingling thrill, the wind rushing her hair in an after-current and her skirt rustling wildly.

It wasn't long before Inuyasha came to the fenced schoolyard. He stopped running for a brief moment, then leapt up to one of the brick pillars and vaulted over. He used the metal fire escapes as stepping stones up to the rooftop and touched down gracefully in the center of it.

"Have fun, Kagome?" he inquired, a haughty smile on his face at the overwhelmed look on the girl's countenance.

"That…was so cool…"

Inuyasha continued to grin as he leapt up and on the structure that protected the staircase. He got to his haunches again and let her off prior to flopping to his rump, feet hanging off the edge. "Looks like we won't have much longer to wait for the next year."

Kagome gingerly sat down beside him. "Anything you really hope for, any resolutions?"

"I make a resolution to never make a resolution."

She shook her head laughingly. "Sounds good to me. Maybe I'll make it mine, too, this year."

"What do you resolve to do usually?"

"Not to pick on Souta."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you must be giving up on that one."

"Hey," Kagome shoved him, "I'm not that mean to him. He does deserve it most of the time." She playfully scowled as Inuyasha chuckled. "But for my hope, it'd probably be that we get the deed soon and that the bad doesn't offset the good."

From the heart of the city, the cry of "ten…nine…eight…" could be heard, as the final seconds of the year waned.

"To next year," Inuyasha murmured, feeling very cynical. "May it be far less fucked up than the last."

_Seven…six…five…_

"Inuyasha, you never said what you hoped for."

_Four...three…two…_

"What I hope for…

_One…._

"…that it goes better the second time around."

"Inuyasha, what do you mean—"

_Zero…_

"Happy New Year!" Tokyo screamed as the fireworks soared into the air, breaking into beautiful bursts of passionate colors that glittered in the sky like the stars that no one could see.

"Welcome to the New Year, Kagome." Inuyasha peered at the sky.

Kagome smiled, question forgotten. "Happy New Year, Inuyasha." Leaning against him, she watched the fireworks fly, just as her hopes and anxieties reflectively reached peak in his eyes.

They sat there for a while, loathe to moving from their wonderfully pleasant spot. Tokyo continued to cheer and glisten, while they remained exalted above, like a fated couple who were too lost in the stars in the others eyes with a passion just as rare as the night sky in this impacted city. Yet, even so, it was nearly ten minutes into the New Year and they had to get home.

Inuyasha had dived from the very top of the school and alighted nimbly before bounding from the schoolyard over the fence to the deserted sidewalk. He landed a little heavier than he anticipated, yet managed to not tip over.

"Oh, no!" Kagome whimpered from behind his head. "My gloves." Her balled-up gloves had bounced from her pocket to the street. Sliding off Inuyasha's back, she trotted over to get them, while the shrill shrieks of the pyrotechnics continued. Crouching down, Kagome grabbed them.

Then, whipping from around the corner, came a set of headlights, and Kagome's body went rigid.

The lights were coming closer, coming faster.

"Kagome! Move!"

Kagome stared as her pupils contracted and then suddenly everything went dark and the world spun in crazy ribbons of light.

A heavy, sickening thump followed by the screech of tires burning hotly as they sped over the pavement without even stopping, without looking back…

Opening her eyes with a moan, Kagome looked from where she faced the gutter to where she heard the thud. _Oh no…_

There he was lying, on his side, unmoving—blood pooling around him.

He'd pushed her out of the way…and now…

"INUYASHA!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Eek! Look what I did! And right after my wonderful 17th b-day party stuff, too! I suddenly felt evil…though I'd been planning this for a while. pulls the fire rat fur haori over her head I'm staying safe with this, and it won't come off! Please don't hate me! Just…just bear with me, ok?! My birthday was good, and kind of crazy, and I promise that Inuyasha will be fine.

Moonlight Shadow


	21. Heartbeats

_Disclaimer: _A lock of hair might do…

A/N: Ok, I explained this once: I didn't update so fast for two reasons. One was because I didn't have my internet up, and two it was my birthday…well, and there is a third explanation of I baby-sit every other week. Anyway, my birthday was extremely fun and while I didn't update, I am entitled to enjoying my life…I still have to read The Great Gatsby and The Odyssey for my AP Lit/Comp class come the fall.

There will be neither a lemon nor a lime in this story; there is absolutely no purpose for it.

Remember everyone: Inu's only supposed to be a dog when going outside… Maybe his brother _did _know what he was talking about… Oh, and yeah, I forget to mention that yes, while Inu is mentally 17, Takahashi did make him physically 15 but the anime art crew decided to make him look his mental age, so in the anime he looks 17. I'm sticking with 17, and for good reason, which I will probably get to later in the story. All questions you have will be answered later, I swear.

I have internet again! Rejoice!

_Chapter Twenty-One:__ Heartbeats_

Fireworks continued to shriek, drowning out Kagome's frightened screams. Her very worst fear, though darkly ambiguous as fear always starts out to be, was painted clearly before her eyes in hues of darkest red.

He had pushed her out of the way, launched himself right into harm's way. Metal had barreled into flesh, ripping and bruising the tissue savagely while he rolled over the hood and windshield and came to rest violently on the merciless blacktop as the car plowed on.

Inuyasha's hat had flown off his head and was nowhere to be found, just like the gloves Kagome had tried to retrieve from the middle of the road.

His hair was fanned out in a silver flow, absorbing some of the blood it fell limply into. Some glass from one of the headlights was sprinkled around him like tiny diamonds against the tarmac—the vehicle must have collided with Inuyasha at a higher speed than Kagome had realized it was going. Flecks of paint lay mixed amongst the testament chaos upon the roadway.

The car had squealed away at a terrible acceleration, and Kagome's insides churned with disgusted anger, but it was enough to wake her out of her petrified trance. She tripped to her feet, stumbling once and scraped her left hand on the pavement when she fell. Even so, she made it over to kneel beside Inuyasha. The notion of internal bleeding inattentively pricked the back of her mind as she turned Inuyasha enough to see his face.

Tears welled up in her azure eyes as a gasp of even more mortification escaped her throat.

Clear and yellow glass from the front lights had gotten lodged into his cheeks and the softer parts of his face, while the harder glass of the windshield was jammed into his forehead; Kagome hadn't even heard the glass break over the clamor of the pyrotechnics or the consuming beating of her heart.

Blood continued to blossom into ruddy pearls at the lacerations, and would viscously slide down the alabaster skin, leaving streak after luscious streak until meeting the ground. It touched his lips and dew-dropped off as Kagome pulled him into her lap for a moment, cradling his torso against hers.

Touching her head to his, Kagome thought of how quiet the city was tonight—among the gala, the cheerful sounds of people celebrating, she was both mute and deaf. Inuyasha's bangs stuck to her forehead by his blood, which glided over her facial aspects in shared pain. His soft breathing was feather-light upon her tear- and blood-stained cheeks, and yet it soothed her by the assurance that he was still in the realm of the living. Wordlessly, she gently wiped the blood from his lips away with her thumb.

_This street was supposed to be closed off tonight because of parades and the small school fairs going on earlier…_ Kagome thought, a teardrop descending onto Inuyasha's closed eye, rolling off with a thinner stripe of blood. _Why was someone driving here? Why didn't they stop? Oh, Inuyasha…_ She sniffled into his hair, feeling one of his ears twitch involuntarily against her face.

"I have to get you out of here…" she whispered to the trembling dog-ear. "But I'm not strong enough to carry you like this home…" Pressing her lips to his brow, Kagome pondered, schooling her horrified faculties to remain calm. One of her hands dropped beside her thigh, brushing against the slight bulge in her skirt pocket. She blinked languidly, trying to figure out why a sudden jolt of detached, excited resolution rippled through her body.

The collar.

Innocently was the collar in her hip pocket. She quickly pulled it out one-handedly. "Maybe I can carry you home when you're a dog, Inuyasha." She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "You won't be thrilled about it, but you can thank me later…" Fastening it around his neck, Kagome screwed her eyes shut as a flare of light shot out.

The body in her arms began to transform into a canine shape, covered in silky fur and boy's clothing. Kagome carefully cradled Inuyasha before slowly rising to her feet to trudge home.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Kagome got to the shrine, the muscles in her arms were strained to the extreme, but she refused to rest. Inuyasha continued to breathe, though the breaths grew thin and forced, and Kagome felt ill at the thought of him dying.

She'd slid the unlocked front door with her foot and hobbled inside, taking him to the den as there was no carpeting and lying him down. She grabbed his blanket from his room and hustled back to the den to cover him up with before taking off the collar again. From there Kagome found the first aid kit in the bathroom and began attending to his wounds—she was glad that she'd taken life-saving last year.

First she pulled the shards of glass out of his face as best she could and disposing of them in the wicker wastebasket prior to washing his face and wrapping some gauze around his head. She took the surgical scissors from the kit and slit open the front of Inuyasha's hunter long sleeve shirt, then pushing it and the jacket off. There was glass in the upper portion of his chest as well and Kagome went to work of extracting the shards and dressing the wounds again.

When checking his legs, Kagome didn't see much more than some contusions and a few little scrapes. Apparently, it was Inuyasha's arms and chest that had been assaulted the worst. Gingerly, she turned the hanyou on his side and sat back on her feet to think.

"What do I do know?" she asked aloud. "I don't know Sesshoumaru's number, and I don't know when everyone's gonna be home…. Maybe I can get a hold of Miroku." Reaching over to grab the portable phone that had been left in the den, Kagome swiftly punched in all the correct buttons for Miroku's cellular phone.

One ring…

Two rings…

Three—

"Hello?" Sounds of people laughing and carrying-on danced in the background.

"Miroku?"

"Kagome! What're you doing? It's pretty late, but—"

"Miroku," Kagome interrupted, desperation evident in her tone, "Inuyasha got hit by a car in his hanyou form."

"What?" The background noises disappeared. "How did that happen? He wasn't supposed to leave the house without the collar on."

"I know, I know, but I'll explain that later. Right now, we have to get Inuyasha to a doctor or something. He's bleeding really badly, and I've done all I can do." A hot, prickly sensation bombarded Kagome's eyes as her breathing grew more frantic. "Please, Miroku, you've got to help me."

"I will, just calm down, Kagome," he soothed. "I've just left the party I was at and am in the car, heading for your house as we speak. I should be there in about seven minutes since it was in town. Be prepared to leave when I arrive. And put the collar back on Inuyasha."

"Y-yes, Miroku."

"I'll be there soon. Bye."

Kagome pulled the headset away and stared at the earpiece from which the solid droning tone came, like a heart monitor in a hospital that's heart it was monitoring had stopped beating…

Shaking her head sharply, Kagome turned the phone off and tossed it to the side. She didn't want to even begin to think of such awful things.

Instead, the girl wrote a note for her mom and posted it on the fridge, then washed Inuyasha's blood from her face and hands. She repacked the first aid kit and some bottled water, and waited so quietly that she could hear Inuyasha's breathing.

Before long, the sound of the doors sliding opening reached Kagome's ears along with Miroku calling, "It's me. Where are you?"

"I'm in the den," she managed weakly, slipping the blanket off the injured dog-demon.

Miroku's even footsteps proceeded to Kagome and Inuyasha's location. He frowned slightly as he entered. "He probably got knocked unconscious. Slip the collar on him."

Nodding, Kagome did as she was told, and the transformation happened again. "Now what?"

The boy knelt down and lifted the silvery-white-haired husky into his arms. "First," he grunted, "I'm going to carry him to the car, and you're going to sit in the rear with him."

"Ok..." She gnawed her lip as her friend lifted her dog-embodied fiancé and toted him out of the room. Kagome scuttled after, her supplies slung over her back in her yellow knapsack. She remained silent as they left the house and descended the temple steps to the waiting Toyota Camry on the street.

"Could you get the door?"

"Sure…" She opened the rear door and Miroku laid Inuyasha across the seat, still with a pair of jogging pants and running shoes on. She fidgeted nervously until darting in beside the former-hanyou while Miroku got into the driver seat. She hastily buckled herself in as her driver did likewise before turning the still-warm engine on and ripping out onto the roadway. "M-Miroku?"

"Yeah?"

"Will Inuyasha be ok?"

Miroku made an impressive right turn, leaving some skid marks due to the far-above-the-speed-limit-speed, while just missing the group of guys Kagome and Inuyasha had contended with earlier. "I would like to say so, as he is half-demon, but that would be more in Kaede's definite knowledge than mine. While the injuries I saw didn't look as awful as they could have, the wrappings are quiet red, and the amount of glass I saw in the wastebasket is a little disturbing. However, I have seen humans survive worse, so I am fairly confident Inuyasha will be fine."

Kagome scrunched her worried brow. While he had—sort of—put her fears to rest, the light shuddering of Inuyasha's canine frame bothered her, and the way he would bounce up and down slightly when as they went along the fairly deserted streets that were leading them out of town at the briskness Miroku had chosen to drive also troubled her.

She watched Miroku's dragon-tail bobble a bit, before shyly inquiring, "We're going to see Kaede?"

Getting her mind off of her immediate fears would probably be for the best right now.

"Yes. I called her already, and thankfully she wasn't out. We're going directly to her house. She has a small office in her home for her sicker patients."

"Oh…ok."

A groan escaped the muzzle of the dog at her side. _"Wh-where…where am I…?" _Inuyasha asked dazedly, gold eyes parting a bit.

"You're in the car with me and Miroku," responded Kagome quietly, relief touching her senses.

_"Oh…"_ was all he murmured before his furry eyelids slid shut again.

"I'll wait until we are at Kaede's to have you explain why in the hell you and Inuyasha were out doing something so reckless," Miroku said curtly, finally coming to the out-of-the-way smooth pavement he had been looking for.

Glancing into the rearview mirror, he saw Kagome solemnly nodding her head with tears shimmering in her eyes as she stroked Inuyasha's head gently.

He let out a light sigh. _Perhaps I was a bit too abrupt…_ he thought, seeing the tortured look in her eyes when the streetlamp they passed under illuminated his friend's eyes further, making him feel somewhat guilty.

Stupid though it was, it was apparent Kagome was punishing herself far worse than all of his sagely wisdom could ever hope to reprimand.

"But…I suppose it was probably Inuyasha's fault, wasn't it?" he joked with a grimace. He glimpsed to the rearview mirror again, catching Kagome's mouth making a brief return of the action.

Pulling the car into the drive of the large--yet somehow quaint--brick house, Miroku went around to the backseat and lifted Inuyasha into his arms again, Kagome hot on his heels.

Kaede had the door open for them before they had even ascended the wooden steps to her porch. She ushered them inside without a word and took them to a small room on the eastern side of the house, shutting the entrance hastily behind them. "Lay him down here," she instructed, already dressed in appropriate clothes for the situation.

Miroku gingerly laid the dog on a huge metal table.

"Go grab my surgical kit from the top shelf of the metal cabinet, and bring the bottle of anesthesia; the mask should already be attached, Miroku." Kaede turned to Kagome. "Over in that chest is a bunch of sheets. Grab one to cover Inuyasha with--then remove those clothes and the collar, child."

Kagome nodded deafly, doing as she was told. She set the covering to the side as she removed Inuyasha's shoes, socks, jogging pants, and boxers. Then, she tucked the sheet around the dog as best she could, considering he was on his side, and took off the collar.

She waited as the light died before turning Inuyasha onto his back, feeling the flutters of anxiety in her heart at the serene look on his face—a look she had never seen before, one that you see on the face of someone who is totally calm; Inuyasha always seemed to be full of piss and vinegar, and loads of reckless energy, and that look, while so beauteous like that of a flawless statue of most romantic days of old, seemed slightly amiss and reminded Kagome too much of one who was in the threshold of death's door.

Kaede must have seen the myriad of emotions displayed on the girl's face, for she said to her, kindly but commandingly, "Kagome, you should wait outside."

"What?" she murmured quietly. "No. I don't want to leave Inuyasha."

"He will be fine, child. He is a hanyou—and a tough and well-bred one at that. His pedigree is one filled with strong dog demons, and the human side is no joke either. Come," the old woman came over and placed her hand in the middle of Kagome's back," and wait here. This may take some time, depending on how much is lodged in him."

"I got some of it…" whispered the girl, allowing herself to be lead away. She felt drained and weak both inside and out.

Kaede smiled tenderly. "Do not fret. I know how to care for demons and humans as well as I do animals. Inuyasha seems to have plopped into all three." She earned an empty chuckle from Kagome before pushing the door open. "You have done what you can. Rest, and have faith in him."

Stealing a troubled glance behind her, Kagome was shepherded out of the room and the door shut out her gaze.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome sat on the porch swing on Kaede's deck. Rocking to and fro, hearing the slight rhythmic creaking of the chains in her ears and feeling the rounded slats of wood beneath her rump, Kagome's passionate sapphire eyes indulged upon the sparkling fanfare of the velvety pitch-black sky above.

The heavens were the darkest she had ever seen them. The occasional firework shot off from somewhere in Tokyo, but it was a long way off into the distance, like a memory in a dream as far as Kagome was concerned.

The house was close by a coppice of trees, the nearest to the wilderness Kagome had ever been. She couldn't see any other homes nearby, only the long stretch of concrete that made the driveway and the cobblestone walk that led up to the very porch sat on.

Kagome's attention continued to be on the injured half-demon resting in the spare bedroom. Even though both Miroku and Kaede had assured her that Inuyasha would be all right, she couldn't stop herself from worrying. He had been hit by a car! Hanyou or not, it still had to have hurt… Kagome didn't exactly relish the idea of him leaving her any time soon. It was no doubt strange how it happened, but nonetheless, she had begun to enjoy their time together, and when they were apart for a bit, it made her want to see him—even if he did have the tendency to get so annoying at times and bicker with her, but there was a bitter-sweetness in his eyes she had grown to hold dear.

In the quiet of Kaede's lot, the whisper of the wind teasing at the infant grass and awaking trees could be heard, forever enticing them and drawing them near yet never allowing neither near her as she would suddenly change direction to waltz with the tiny buds of flowers in the small meadow.

Even as the eddy flirted about, the steady resonance of her own heart whispered truer to her than it ever had before.

The heart never speaks with words in a tongue that can be voiced aloud. Many poets and writers have tried to transcribe it into precious lexes that would touch the very soul of the reader in the most intimate of way. But, they have not succeeded.

The heart never sees in colors that are in the earthly spectrum. Many painters and sculptors have tried to give it a form in such a vibrant array of colors that would stir any soul like when watching the sunset. But, they have not succeeded.

The heart never hears in a pitch or tone that can be heard. Many singers and musicians have tried to express it with such passion that would make a soul weep from the haunting truth. But, they have not succeeded.

The heart never feels pain as any other part of the body does. Many philosophers and thinkers of high intellect and stature have tried to reason it in the most eloquent of way that a soul would be content in having a logical explanation for why the heart feels as it does. But, they have not succeeded.

The heart never smells the same scents that even the most sensitive of noses can pick up. Many herbalists and florists have tried to capture it with various flower arrangements and perfumes that would cause the soul to recognize it when it wafts before it. But, they have not succeeded.

It is not among the realm of humans, demons, or hanyous to comprehend this secret society of the heart, no matter how perceptive. A glimpse, perhaps, and yet it not always seen for what it truly is.

Even so, young Kagome was able to experience the deepest sensation that the heart could produce, the one that washed all her senses with so many emotions that it would be impossible to know where to begin.

If only she was able to see it clearly like the rarity of stars up in the sky, lofting above Kaede's house tonight.

Rising, Kagome walked noiselessly to the high railing that encircled the ring-around angular porch. She had been nervous when Kaede had tactfully made her leave the room, while Miroku played assistant as she worked on Inuyasha. However, the house was soothing, just like a grandmother—of which Kaede fit the description perfectly--, and Kagome had drifted off to sleep, having odd dreams about this and that.

They had woken her at about three o'clock to let her know they were finished and that Inuyasha was resting in the spare bedroom close to the back of the house, also on the east side. Kaede and Miroku had made her recount why she and her hanyou companion were even outside during New Years undisguised. That had made Kagome launch into the tale, sniffling guiltily as she did. If she hadn't gone after those stupid gloves that she didn't even have a clue as to where they were!

After explaining, the pair of operatives had told her it wasn't entirely her fault, though very dim, it was Inuyasha's suggestion, and it was probably for the best that she had gone with him rather than firmly staying at home and allowing him to get in some form of worse trouble.

Miroku had called Sesshoumaru to detail what had happened. The last time Kagome had seen him, he had a finger jammed in his ear while talking heatedly, yet somehow calmly, with his boss on his cell phone. The Toyota was still in the driveway, so he had probably crashed somewhere else in the house.

Kaede had insisted she try and get some more rest in the front room—the old woman had even brought Kagome some extra blankets and pillows, and had shut off the lights—but the girl just couldn't will herself to. After the brief sleep of blurred reveries, Kagome had wanted nothing more than to get away for a bit, and the porch had beckoned her through the French doors.

So, here she stood.

_The sky's so beautiful tonight… I wish Inuyasha was out here to watch it._ Kagome sighed, folding her arms on the railing and resting her chin atop them. _There are so many things I wonder about the future…things I wonder about now… What exactly did Inuyasha mean when he said, "I hope it goes better the second time around"? I just don't get it. _

_The whole thing about the deed sounds too simple—surely Sesshoumaru has noticed, if not Inuyasha too. That clue is so vague, and open to so many interpretations. I wonder what the prophesy says exactly…_ She slouched a little further. _If I was going to hide something…well, everyone would know where to find it because they know they way I think…_

Twinkling pleasantly, the stars caught her eyes. People try to make shapes out of clouds or the stars, various wondrous things that only someone with a keen imagination could think of…and the only thing Kagome could see amongst the sky-sea of inky-black was Inuyasha.

"Maybe…I should go inside and check on him…" she suggested to herself. Straightening up, Kagome walked around to the cracked-open French doors. She fastened them closed as quietly as she could before making her way to the back of the house, passing through the finely decorated rooms.

The whole house was painted in warm, inviting colors, and it wasn't overly cluttered, but comfortably so. It wasn't overly clean, but not a sty--and everything smelled spicy and sweet like fresh fruit pies.

Kagome passed by the personal vet office and to the next door. Cautiously she opened it, and sighed in relief when she spotted a familiar head of silver hair adorned with two dog-ears. She tiptoed in, not wanting to wake him.

As she got closer, Kagome could see the bandages on his face, and a few places where they had been left off. At those spots, new pink skin had begun to grow. It made her heave another sigh of relief.

The blue and white flowered bedspread was tucked up to the middle of his chest with his arms lying at his sides. One of his hands, she noted, had a splint on his right ring finger; it must have gotten jammed when he slammed into the windshield.

Unbeknownst to Kagome, a smile had spread across her face at the sight of him, but remembering the hit-and-run made it fade back into a neutral expression, one that her countenance was not used to bearing.

Inuyasha's aura remained strong as it always did, but the rugged wildness to it had been subdued a little more, most probably because he was healing and asleep.

Kagome stood beside the bed, brushing his bangs away from his forehead, peering at him curiously. She laid a palm against his face and could feel the texture of the fabric and the grazes that marred his face—but as Kaede had told her, there would be no scar.

Inuyasha made no movement except the even rise and fall of his chest.

Kagome could feel the tears visiting her eyes again. It still felt like it was her fault… It was a hard thing to get passed.

"Please forgive me, Inuyasha," she whispered so softly that she couldn't even hear the words fall off her lips. "This is all my fault. But…thank you for saving me."

He didn't say anything.

Gently, Kagome laid her head over his heart. The proud tattoo beat pacifically in her ear, and made Kagome's own heart feel tingly and quick-paced. "I don't know what made you so grumpy as you are sometimes, but that's ok. You're a really good person with a really good heart, and no matter what sadness you've had in your past with growing up without your family really around…or with Kikyou…. I just want you to know you don't have to worry about it." The balmy breath of the hanyou rustled her hair, and when she moved her head a little, she could feel her strands of ebony brush gently over his tepid lips; and even though he still hadn't said a word, it seemed that he understood.

She listened to his heart for a while more, growing more at ease. His heart went thump…a-thump while his breathing went in…and out. He was breathing and his heart was beating, and Kagome was comforted by that.

Standing straight again, Kagome took hold of Inuyasha's left hand and pressed it to her chest, feeling her own heartbeat channel through his hand. "Just so you don't forget that your heart should keep beating…and that you don't forget that there's a heart that beats for you, Inuyasha."

Then, placing his hand back down, Kagome leaned over and shyly planted a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth.

She turned to leave, but before she did, she saw the content smile that slid over his lips, and Kagome's heart lifted and she smiled back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I planned on making this long and so I did. Actually, this wasn't going to take up most of the chapter, but hey. It's still important, and the other stuff, I'm guessing since this took this much, will probably make up the difference in another long chapter next time around. Sorry about scaring you guys so badly.

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. My mom wasn't feeling well today, so I didn't have anyone beta this…except me…and even I about cried at a part of it.


	22. Ring Around the Bedside

A/N: See, I told you Inu would be ok…but, man, you guys need to lay off either the threats or the espresso. Or both would be nice. In any case, we're rolling around to chapter 22, and I have a cold…so I don't feel too well…. Yeah, yeah—I know, I know: Only fools get summer colds… -sneezes- Just…I'm glad (most) of you had no complaints; well, no one was bashing, just some people aren't as fluff-loving as others. –shrugs- I have my reasons. Someone pointed out that Mel Gibson is from Australia, but he's an American-born Aussie. Anyway, enough of my pointless rambling…

I lovingly dedicate this chapter to my niece Kirsten, because she will be in Colorado with her evil mother for three weeks. Grr!

Thank you, Notoes, for noticing the mistakes last chapter.

_Chapter Twenty-Two: __Ring Around the Bedside_

Inuyasha awoke, the rising sun coming through the window, which he saw through bleary eyes. He rubbed at them with the heel of his left hand, but the haziness was still there. The room looked strange, even through his clouded eyes—this place didn't look familiar at all. It didn't smell familiar either.

Actually, everything smelled faintly like some kind of knock-out gas.

Closing his eyes again, Inuyasha tried to remember what happened…everything that he remembered was kind of vague, and there were huge chunks missing from his memory.

He remembered being with Kagome on the rooftop of her school, watching the fireworks and thinking she looked really pretty, and that he liked it when she leant up against him…then, they had jumped to go back home…then…something about her gloves and…

Lights…twin lights…headlights…

There had been a car coming at Kagome…and he pushed her out of the way and got hit instead…

After hitting the windshield, everything had kind of blacked out…but he did remember something shiny on the man's chest…on both of the men's chests…

All the memory-recalling was making his head hurt, so Inuyasha opened his eyes once more, and this time his vision was more lucid.

"What is this place…?" he asked himself quietly. He sniffed. "Smells like Kaede-hag." Sitting up in the soft bed, the blue and white flowered comforter falling into his lap, Inuyasha became aware of the fact he was bare. He sighed and then snorted. _I swear I end up naked more often than a porn star…_

Decoupage flowers adorned the walls—probably trying to create a soothing atmosphere. There was a window to his left and one behind him, both with translucent white curtains. There were a rocking chair and table not far off with a candy dish sitting on it.

Inuyasha sniffed the air again. He picked up Kagome's scent. A few hours old, but it was still as sweet to his keen nose as if she were in the room with him.

"I remember being in a car with her…" he said to the silence in his room, headache vanishing. "Her and Miroku…. I ached all over." Touching a hand to his cheek, he felt the woven fabric there, and light tinge of pain. His gaze dropped his chest and he could see all the bandages crisscrossing over his muscles, all the way down to his abdomen where a good-sized bruise resided in all its purple-and-yellow-spotted glory right above his navel.

Thoughtfully rubbing the corner of his mouth, he murmured, "I don't really remember anything after that…. I wonder if Kagome's hurt." His eyes grew a bit at that notion, feeling quiet snarl rise up to his throat. "If she's hurt…"

"Good mornin', Sunshine!" Miroku cheerfully greeted as he entered the room.

"Gah!" Inuyasha's ears twitched in annoyance. "Shit, Miroku, do you have to do that?" he groused.

He shrugged. "You should lie down."

"I feel fine."

"Oh?" Miroku came to the hanyou's bedside. He gently poked Inuyasha with his finger in the side.

Inuyasha let out a yelp. "Hey, asshole, watch it!"

Tsking lightly, the monk took a seat in the rocking chair. "Such language. You have quite a few contusions, and you jammed your right ring finger." Inuyasha glanced to the splint and upon trying to move it was rewarded with a short hiss of pain. "Just take it easy."

"Keh." Reluctantly, the hanyou propped his back up with his pillows. "So," the fire in his eyes faded to seriousness, "how's Kagome?"

"Kagome? She's doing fine. A bit tired and a few scrapes here or there, but nothing crucial." He languidly stretched out the silence to select a hard peppermint. Before saying with utmost, knowing coyness, "Worried about her, were you?" Miroku raised an eyebrow.

"Can it."

"Ah, so you were." Twiddling with the ring on his right thumb, Miroku locked his dark violet eyes on Inuyasha. "So, tell me why you got Kagome into such trouble."

"What?"

"Kagome only wants the best for you, especially your happiness," he said simply, eyelids drifting together in a sagely way, rapping the candy soundly against his teeth. "She is a very gentle person, very kind-hearted, and you tried to take advantage of that."

"You make me sound like some form of delinquent!" protested Inuyasha, folding his arms in annoyance.

When Miroku's eyelids parted, a flickering of flame danced in his mauve orbs. "Kagome is like a sister to me, and if you get her into so much trouble again, I will be forced to kick your ass, Inuyasha."

"And you're tellin' me to watch my language…. Look, I'm sorry for what happened to her, ok?! Geez…it's not like I was planning on almost getting her killed…but it was kinda weird how it happened…." Something black and white flashed before his mind's eye.

Miroku peered at him curiously. "What do you mean by weird?"

Inuyasha joggled his cranium. "Not sure…" He rubbed his temple, feeling that headache take dominance over his noggin again.

"Well, you will have to explain this to Sesshoumaru—he was, by the way, not pleased at all to hear you did something so boneheaded." Miroku rose and crossed to the hanyou's bedside again. "Do us all a favor, especially yourself, Inuyasha, and do _not_ try to go outside without the collar on again. "

Inuyasha ground some expert curses out beneath his breath.

The door pushed open again, and Kaede stepped into the entryway, clad in her red bathrobe. "Miroku, it's only forty-five minutes after six. Let Inuyasha get some rest. It's far too early for him to be holding a steady conversation."

"Whatever, you old bag." He rolled his eyes. "For your information, I woke up on my own."

"Fine then, Inuyasha." Kaede turned away from the door, yet paused to say, "But save your yapping for someone it will intimidate."

"Feh," he grumbled in her wake.

Miroku chomped the rest of his peppermint. "You heard her--go back to sleep."

"I don't _feel_ like it."

Shrugging, Miroku reached over and pinched the nerve in the half-demon's neck. "Funny, I don't recall asking you…." He watched with some satisfaction as Inuyasha's head lolled onto his chest as he passed out. "I love that trick. Now, what to do…? I believe Kaede has satellite…I wonder if girls' mud wrestling is still on…."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome was jostled awake by Miroku gently shaking her. "Kagome," he said, cell phone in hand, "your mom's on the phone."

"Oh…" She blinked the sleep away from her eyes and took the cell. "Hello?"

"OH, KAGOME!" came Mama's voice (Kagome had pulled the earpiece away just in time). "I was so worried, and that note was so vague—"

"Mom."

"--and Souta found the glass in the wastebasket—"

"Mom?"

"--and I didn't know what was going on—are you all right? What about Inuyasha? I thought you and he weren't going out last night—and I was practically ripping my hair out, and you didn't call—"

"Mom!" the girl finally shouted, effectively hushing her mother. "I'm fine, Mama. I just had a little fall….Inuyasha…he was…uh, h-hit by a car."

"Oh! The poor dear! Where are you two?"

"We're at Ms. Kaede's. We're both all right now. Miroku's here with me, too."

"Oh," Mama sighed, "I'm glad…. Why didn't you call, young lady?!"

"I was sleeping," she answered honestly. "What time is it?"

"It's quarter after nine."

Miroku whispered, "I just peeked out, and Sesshoumaru has just pulled in. He's going to want to talk to you and Inuyasha."

"Look, Mom, I gotta go."

"But, Kagome—what's going on? Why didn't you go out earlier with the rest of us?"

"Uh…" A sound knock from the front door, and Kagome knew Sesshoumaru was just on the other side. Desperately, her eyes darted around until she saw a plastic candy wrapper sitting in the wastebasket. Kagome snagged it and began crinkling it in front of the mouthpiece, saying loudly, "What, Mom? You're breaking up--I think the phone's gonna die." She ended the call and handed the phone back to Miroku.

"Very clever," he said, tucking the cell into his khaki slacks pocket and going over to open the door for his employer. "Hello, Sesshoumaru."

The great dog demon nodded once, sweeping passed his operative. His eyes lighted upon the sleep-tussled Kagome. "You should come as well."

"Uh…where?"

"To whatever room Inuyasha is resting in."

Jaken scuttled in, the creepy staff in his slimy hands. "Lord Sesshoumaru, are we going to firmly reprimand your brother?" Something akin to glee sparkled in the toad's yellow eyes.

"I will personally see what caused him to act upon his ignorance," he coolly replied.

Kagome bounded off the couch on which she had slept and marched straight up to Sesshoumaru. "Don't talk about him like he's stupid! You may think you know what he's been through, but you don't!"

He raised an eyebrow. "And you do?"

"W-well, not exactly," she spluttered, reddening over the bridge of her nose. "But, I do know that all he wanted was, for one night, to try and be like a normal person and watch the New Year come in. Yeah, it was probably really dumb of _both_ of us, but it wasn't the most outrageous request."

"Humph," Jaken snorted. "Tell her, Lord Sesshoumaru, tell her how boorish and infantile her argument was."

Sesshoumaru peered at Kagome interestedly. It was surprising for him to see the look of absolute outrage over her countenance, especially in regards of defending his little brother. "I will keep that in mind. Now—come."

Kagome blinked, totally flat-footed. "S-sure."

Jaken stood with his mouth agape.

Smiling, Miroku nudged the toad out of his way with his foot. "Judging from your master's choice of words, I'd say you have to stay here. Perhaps you can go out back and try to catch a bug or two for breakfast." With that parting sentiment, the monk left Jaken smoldering in the foyer.

Sesshoumaru and Kagome had gone into Inuyasha's room, the hanyou wide awake and watching the birds outside.

He tilted his head toward the doorway when the pair entered, and a look of relief crossed his face. "Kagome…"

She smiled and trotted over to him and hugged him briefly. "I'm fine, Inuyasha. Are you feeling better?"

He was stunned into silence by her outward show of affection and managed to awkwardly pat her back lightly. "Uh, yeah."

Pulling away, Kagome perched on the edge of Inuyasha's bed as Sesshoumaru made himself comfortable in the rocking chair.

"So, Inuyasha," the full-blooded demon began conversationally, "you had wanted to see a New Year ring in?"

"Yeah, so?"

Sesshoumaru crossed on leg over the other. "I understand why you did what you did, but I wish to know any details you can give me about who hit you."

Inuyasha stared at his brother in disbelief. "You mean you're not going to piss and moan about me 'disobey orders'?"

A corner of Sesshoumaru's lips lifted. "I believe getting whacked by a car is far more suitable punishment. While it was unintelligent, both you and Kagome have—"

"Leave Kagome out of this—she didn't want to go along with it," broke-in Inuyasha. "It was all my fault and I take full responsibility."

"Inuyasha…" murmured the girl, turning to look at him. "No, you can't. I should have stopped you from going, and I shouldn't have bothered going after my gloves."

"Don't be stupid, Kagome!"

"How about this," Miroku said; cutting short a banter that could continue on for quite some time, "it is both your faults. Kagome for not being firm and Inuyasha for suggesting it."

Neither spoke a word, but it seemed to suit them well enough—at least each had some amount of guilt to bear.

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms over his torso, rocking the chair a bit. "So, what happened after you snuck out?"

"Well," Kagome began, looking away from Inuyasha, "we came across a bunch of guys and Inuyasha got in a fight with a reptile demon of some sort. Oh! He was wearing a hat the whole time, too, if that means anything…."

"All right. So after my brother showed off—"

"Like hell I was showing off!"

"—what happened?"

"I dragged Inuyasha away because I saw some police officers coming towards us, and we went to my school and sat on the rooftop to watch the fireworks."

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered as he seemed to digest this, while Inuyasha's ears twitched lightly, also in thought.

The three were quiet, so Miroku picked up the ball and continued the interrogation. "So, when did he get hit, Kagome?"  
She chewed her lip, gaze going to the window. "…Inuyasha jumped us back over the fence, and we landed a little unevenly, and my gloves bounced out of my pocket and into the street. I got off his back to get them, and when I crouched down, a car came around the corner. He pushed me out of the way and next thing I knew, the car was speeding off and Inuyasha was," she choked up a little, "lying on the ground bleeding."

Inuyasha tentatively touched the girl's arm with the very tips of his claws gently. He felt her shudder then relax.

Sesshoumaru rocked back and forth for a moment or two before asking, "Is there anything else you remember—anything odd?"

"The street was supposed to be closed off for the school fairs and a parade goes through there early the next morning—I mean, early this morning."

"Anything else?" He glimpsed at his brother expectantly.

Inuyasha's mind flared as things became clear about the night of his accident. "The car was black and white. Two long stripes; black on the top and white on the bottom, I think. The guys were wearing badges, so they were policemen."

"If they were officers of the law, why didn't they stop?" queried Kagome, aghast.

"Indeed," murmured Sesshoumaru, almost playfully. "If they were, they would have stopped, but as they were not, they had no reason to."

"Are you saying they were fakes? But, why would someone pretend to be a policeman?"

"Kagome," Miroku came up to her, "the police came to the shrine when the mini-shrine housing Tetsusaiga was attacked, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't you ever wonder why they didn't call you back?"

"Well, of course I did, but I…" she stopped short, seeing the knowing twinkle in her friend's eye. "They were fakes, too?"

"I would say so."

"That's probably why they didn't say anything about the inside of the lock being melted away…"

Miroku nodded. "Most probably."

"There was a youki lingering in the lock itself…" Kagome murmured, "and it matched the one the bee demons left behind."

"That explains how they got in."

"My sources," began Sesshoumaru, "have told me that Saimyoushou venom is corrosive to metals, and we do know that Naraku sent the bees...it would not be a stretch for me to assess that he has some very clever operatives of his own veiled as officers of the law."

Miroku rested his rump on the windowsill. "Then Naraku was waiting for Kagome to come out on New Years so he could kill her and have access to Tetsusaiga. It is logical; a girl getting hit by a car on New Years eve isn't that unheard of. However, it makes me wonder if he has someone to break through the spiritual wards working with him…" His penetrating glare rested unnoticeably on the half-demon, the only one who detected it.

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, yet even so, his face tensed up in a scowl. "Bastard…"

Kagome peered from her friend to her fiancé's brother. "So…is the Tetsusaiga still there?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her without saying a word.

She gasped. "Oh, no…don't tell me he's gotten it…"

Keeping the stare for a bit longer, Sesshoumaru finally chuckled. "Miroku called one of the my minor operatives over to watch the house until your family returned. The Tetsusaiga is safe and sound in my brother's room."

"You jerk!" Kagome released a long sigh. "Don't do stuff like that!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered with some form of sadistic humor as he rose. "We will convene for now. Kaede says you may return home. Call the Higurashi family and have them pick up."

"I'll get you some clothing," Miroku whispered only loudly enough for Inuyasha to hear.

"After everything with the deed is resolved, we will tell your family," stated Sesshoumaru, looking to Kagome.

The girl nodded. "Ok."

"Well, little brother, stay alive and do not venture out without the collar on." He proceeded to the door. "We will go get the deed soon enough. Perhaps…the middle of February."

"Not patient enough to wait for the spring equinox, huh?" Inuyasha half-heartedly joked.

Sesshoumaru said nothing as he swept out with a flourish.

Miroku grinned at them. "I'll go call your mom, Kagome." Then, he, too, left the room.  
The couple watched as the door swung closed.

"Hey, Kagome?"

"Hmm?" The girl shifted around to face him.

"I'm glad you're all right."

She smiled a little. "I'm glad you're still alive. I would have missed you."

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh! I'm not a weak human like you. Do you honestly think a car hitting me would actually end _my_ life?"

"Hmph." Kagome glared at him. "Sorry for doubting you." She patted him on the shoulder and watched as Inuyasha's eyes contorted into pained shapes and he flumped back into bed. "See! I knew you were still hurt!" she insisted as he slithered down into the depths of his pillows.

"Shut up!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Agh, another info chapter! There's so many in this story. They really aren't my favorite to write, but I think I handle them pretty well. Anyway, hopefully the next one will be a little more…fun? Is that the word? I typed this up with my Inuyasha shirt on and my Inu plushie at my side. Well, toodles.

Moonlight Shadow


	23. Butter Cream Frosting

_Disclaimer: _If I did, wouldn't my Japanese be excellent?

A/N: I really hate writing info chaps. But, the thing of it is, I was thinking about the other day, is the fact that I'm not a professional writer, and every time I write a chapter, I'm learning how to handle things, and do things better. I learned from writing MLV and I'm learning from OaL. Hopefully, when another year goes by, my craft will be that much better. To that thought, and to happiness, I bring you the next installment of "On a Leash".

_Chapter Twenty-Three:__ Butter Cream Frosting_

"Kagome, don't you dare leave me alone!"

"Inuyasha! I have to get to school!"

It was the first day of the new semester, and Kagome was determinedly trying to march downstairs to leave while her very stubborn fiancé clung to her ankle (he'd fallen at one point when trying to grab her and had just settled with snatching the nearest body part).

They had been having this argument all morning since he'd seen her come to breakfast with her uniform on.

It had started in the kitchen, then followed up into her room when she tried to get her things…

And so far, it was showing no signs of letting up.

"Kagome!" barked Inuyasha as he was slowly dragged over the carpeted steps. "I'm still injured! What kind of fiancée leaves her betrothed unattended to?"

The girl ground her teeth together, black school case in hand and the other gradually helping to bring her to her destination. "Look, Inuyasha, I've told you this already: it's not that I'm abandoning you—it's the fact I have to go to school! It's the law, and I like school!"

"You do?" he asked incredulously, before accidentally bumping into the bottom of the railing, which made him regain his steam. "I thought you were going to take care of me…"

"And I did!" Kagome did a hop-skip to the landing, effectively dislodging the hanyou. She sprinted over to the shoe rack and slipped on her white loafers. Whirling around, she said in absolute bother, "I figure that if you're well enough to spar with Sango like you did yesterday, you're well enough to let me go to school and handle it like a big boy. Besides," she huffed, "Mama's gonna be home, so suck it up."

"Hey, watch the bitchiness factor, would ya?" Inuyasha jeered from the stairs, still lying on his stomach where she had left him.

"Ugh!" She seized her light weight jacket and threw it on. "Just quit it, would you? I have to go now or I could be late." Kagome slung her school case over her shoulders. "You said so yourself that you're half-demon and heal very quickly." Sliding open the door, she said without facing him, "You'll be fine and I'll be home at three, ok?" With that she shut the slider after her.

Inuyasha pushed himself up and adjusted position so he was sitting on the stairs rather than sprawling across them. Smoldering, the hanyou muttered unintelligible things to himself about thoughtless bitches until Souta bounced passed him.

"Good morning, Inuyasha," he chirped, dashing by; apparently he hadn't heeded his sister when she came in to wake him up earlier, and was consequently running behind schedule.

"Morning." He looked up as Souta scrambled to put on his shoes, seeing the boy's hair sticking at odd angles about his head. He chuckled when Mama came in and straightened her youngest child's hair.

Groaning, Souta had zipped out of the house.

Mama merely shook her head. She turned to Inuyasha with a smile. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Just sore." He was answering honestly; he really was feeling much better. It had been three days, and his wounds had all healed up just fine. The soreness would probably disappear in a few hours, but he had his reasons for not wanting Kagome to leave him.

Mainly that he didn't want to find out she'd been hit by a car walking to or from school….

Mama smiled gently. "Why don't you take it easy, sweetie? I'll make you a cup of tea and you can relax until Sango comes this evening to practice with you. I don't want you overexerting yourself."

Inuyasha nodded. "Sure," he murmured. He watched her grin widen as she bustled out of the room. Mama had taken him into the family and treated him as if he belonged there, and though Inuyasha was still getting used to it, it was nice to have someone who treated him the way his mother had.

He made his way to living room and stretched out on the couch, still in his pajamas. Buyo waddled up and leapt heavily onto the hanyou's stomach. "Maybe you should lose some more weight."

Buyo flicked his tail. _"Maybe you should toughen up."_

Inuyasha's hand dropped to the floor where the remote was laying, most probably left there by Gramps this morning. He turned on the TV. "Whatever, your royal fatness. Glad to have the bed back?"  
_"__Oh, exceedingly happy,"_ he purred.

Channel surfing with one hand, and petting Buyo with his free one, Inuyasha came across the news station.

"The campaigns are still as fervent as ever," the newscaster was saying, showing snippets of various candidates. "There's rumors going around of the candidates stopping by Tokyo sooner than expected, but, of course, that is all speculation and hearsay."

Inuyasha changed channels. If he saw Naraku on the screen, he knew he'd start growling and rather than worry Mama, he'd just watch the anime show he'd stumbled on.

A few minutes later, Mama came in with the promised cup of tea and set it on the floor where he could easily reach it. "Anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank you." He dipped a claw into the hot drink when the woman walked away and let a drop plunk into his mouth.

_"Wow, you're awful polite, aren't you?"_ Buyo teased.

"Shut up. I just don't need anything." He watched as the swordsman on the show pulled out a 'reverse-blade' sword and mowed through a bunch of enemies without killing them. Inuyasha watched about three more episodes before it went to some really lame show and returned to his current pastime of channel surfing.

Unfortunately, he landed on another news station, and caught a glimpse of Naraku, shaking hands and looking as sweet as he could. Growling quietly, Inuyasha shut off the television and pushed a half-awake Buyo off his gut. "That's it. I'm going to practice." Rolling off the couch and landing in a crouch, Inuyasha left his teacup and tramped to Grampa's training room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At about ten minutes to three, Mama poked her head into the chamber where Inuyasha was shadow boxing. "Inuyasha, Miroku's here to see you."

The hanyou stopped his training as Mrs. Higurashi moved away and Miroku entered the room, all smiles as usual. "Greetings."

"What do you want?"

"Now, now," he waved a hand, "you make it sound like it's bad when I'm around. Your brother told me what today was." Miroku reclined against the doorjamb, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"What's today?" Inuyasha asked, clearly puzzled.

"You don't know?" The monk's eyes danced in amusement. "Today's your birthday."

The half-demon blinked. "It is?"

"Yes. Today is January fourth, and your brother says that today would be your real eighteenth birthday." Miroku inclined his head to outside the room, while saying, "I brought you a lemon cake with butter cream frosting, courtesy of Lady Kagura."

Inuyasha stared. Sesshoumaru's wife had given him a cake? That was unexpected. "So…?"

"Yes?"

"There's a reason you're still here, isn't there?" Inuyasha walked over to the monk, peering at him untrustingly.

"Well," Miroku leaned off the jamb, "just to give you a semi party. Cake, gifts, the Higurashi family, Sango, and myself."

"Why?"

"Because it's your eighteenth birthday," sighed Miroku in exasperation. "Now, Sango and Kagome will be here soon—I am sure Sango has already explained what's going on. Go wash up and make yourself presentable. Becoming eighteen is a proud day, especially for you."

Inuyasha continued to stare at the other male. "Why especially for me?"

"You are a legal adult, and old enough to get married." Miroku grinned as the hanyou's gaze wavered a bit. "Get cleaned up and meet me in the kitchen."

Deciding to just go-with-the-flow, Inuyasha went to his room to get a change of clothes and then headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When he emerged, steam in his wake, he could hear and smell the girls in the kitchen. His feet lead him there automatically.

Sango and Kagome were placing the candles in, and Miroku was playing with his lighter with the kind of grin only a true pyromaniac can obtain.

Mama had set out plates, and Souta was toting out napkins. Gramps was trying to nick some of the frosting, but was thwarted by his granddaughter.

The cake was very basic with red writing on white frosting. Behind it was a cluster of presents and the aforementioned plates and plastic utensils.

"Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?" Kagome laughed when Inuyasha entered the room. She jogged over and took him by the elbow and sat him down.

Birthday-boy mumbled, "I forgot."

"You forgot your own birthday?" Sango looked to him, disbelieving mirth sparkling in her russet eyes. "That's pretty bad."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and slumped in his chair.

Kagome patted his shoulder consoling, giggling slightly. "It's ok, Inuyasha. We're going to give you a good birthday party—maybe a little on the impromptu side, but it's still from the heart."

Sighing, and wondering why the hell he always seemed to get into these situations, he nodded.

Flicking his lighter, Miroku lit each candle wick of the eighteen candles that made a fiery hoop around the edge of the cake.

Then, everyone started to sing to him. Even though Grampa and Souta's singing techniques had yet to get any better, Miroku, Sango, and Kagome were pleasant on the dog-ears and effectively drowned out the other pair.

"Make a wish, Inuyasha," instructed Mama.

"A wish…?" Thinking, Inuyasha decided upon the only thing he really wanted right now: _I wish I could go outside like a person…_ Puckering his lips, he blew the flickering flames out and everyone clapped, except for Miroku who only insanely smiled.

The monk had a good reason to grin, as, one by one, the candles relit themselves.

"Miroku!" Sango reached over and slapped his arm. "You bought trick candles."

He chuckled as Inuyasha gave him a death look.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome got a cup and filled it with water. "Miroku, sometimes you're so mean." She blew out the candles and quickly dropped them into the water. "Honestly…"

Mama had divided the cake, and the entire group agreed that the cake was scrumptious--just enough lemon and just enough sweetness. It had taken a bit of persuasion on Mrs. Higurashi's part to get everyone to let Inuyasha open his presents.

Sango had gotten him a hairbrush. "Your hair looks like a mess half the time," she explained as he rather glared at her until she handed him a card with some money in it, then she was back in his good graces.

Miroku gave him a stress ball. "It is in the hopes that you can control your temper a bit."

"Bite off, monk," Inuyasha snapped.

Everyone else had laughed, including Miroku. "See? And this is from your brother." He pulled out a flip phone. "It's your very own cell phone so you can keep in touch with all of us, and will hopefully keep you out of trouble."

Grumbling, but secretly admiring the technology, Inuyasha stowed it away in the pocket of his pants.

"Sango just took me shopping after school, and I didn't have a lot of money," Kagome said before handing Inuyasha a small blue bag. "I hope you like it."

Reaching into the bag, Inuyasha pulled out a long, prayer bead necklace. Every five beads there was a shark fang, and the beads themselves were made out of polished wood. "This is actually pretty cool," he assessed, slipping it over his head while his fiancée tucked it beneath his hair.

"Sango's right, you do need your hair brushed."

"Keh."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, not too bad of a birthday, huh, Inuyasha?" Kagome said with a smile that night as she sat on his futon with him, brushing the snarls out of his long hair.

"Nope."

She worked up from the base of the hair and was making her way to the middle of his hair. "I mean, even though we're sort of on hiatus, it makes me wonder what Naraku's doing. Is he just going to go around campaigning?"

"Maybe."

The girl proceeded to his scalp, carefully drawing the brush down. "I don't think he knows you've reclaimed Tetsusaiga, but what will he do when he finds out?"

"I dunno."

Sighing, she took all of his hair in one hand and started to untangle the underside of his mane—it really was a mess, but the knots seemed to come out fairly easily. "I wonder where your mother hid that prophesy. I mean, you said that prophesy is hidden somewhere in the library. Where exactly does someone hide a prophesy?"

"I dunno."

Kagome peeked over Inuyasha's shoulder. He was sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes closed with a neutral look on his face. _Maybe he's tired…_ _Sango trained him really hard today…_ she thought, deciding to just let him unwind. Continuing to voice her thoughts aloud, she asked, "Don't you think that clue's pretty vague? There's gotta be some kind of twist to it or something…"

"Uh-huh."

"Inuyasha," Kagome inquired, running her fingers through his hair, having completed her task; his hair felt soft and smooth between her fingers, "are you even listening to me?"

"Uh-huh."

"You are not…" she sighed. _It's like he's under a trance or something…_ She smiled quietly as she queried, "Do you like your hair brushed?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why?"

"Feels nice," he answered, keeping his answers as short as possible.

_Just like a dog…_ Kagome thought, shaking her head. _I guess there are just some habits he can't break. _Reaching up, she rubbed his ears gently and was rewarded by a deep purr. _Or maybe he thinks he's a cat,_ she mentally laughed. She sat there for a time, just enjoying the resonance Inuyasha was making before she yawned and realized it was pretty late.

"I'm going to turn in." She stopped massaging his furry triangles and settled into the bed. "Goodnight, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's purring went on for a moment before he waggled his head; when Kagome had done that, it reminded him of when his mother would brush out his hair and tell him stories of wild fancy.

Lingering on the memory for a moment, he laid down beside her. "Yeah, goodnight." He waited for a moment before starting, "Hey, Kagome?"

"Huh?"

"I was listening."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Filler chapters are hard to write too. See, I have to put these in so we can get to the stuff I actually wanna write and show you guys, but first we have to go bit-by-bit. I don't want to just skim off some of the funniness that happens. The next will be another filler and then the one after that….-evil laughter- will be the true stuff….

Moonlight Shadow


	24. Cards and Chocolates

A/N: Well, a few questions to answer. First: No, they wouldn't know that Inu was back; he was in disguise with the hat and he just happened to be with Kagome. They might have thought he was another guy—I doubt they were paying attention, as they didn't stop. Second: How I picked Inu's b-day is actually because a friend of mine and I were looking at horoscopes, which for the record I don't believe in, and saw that Aquarius fit extremely well, so I figured "Why not?". I just recently found out that my page dividers for the early chaps aren't showing up so I'll have to go back and fix it… -sighs- , you're making me look like a doof.

The necklace Kagome gave Inuyasha isn't enchanted. And Inuyasha IS 18 now, because, well, I said so; basically, it's because he wasn't in his normal form during that 50 years, and Sesshoumaru calls it Inuyasha's _official_ birthday. Inuyasha was locked in a room for a long time, and was too depressed to care about time and Kikyou didn't exactly leave a calendar with him. He was alive when pinned to the tree, believe it or not I really DO NOT want to argue this because it ends up annoying the seven hells out of me and I would rather just write the story than banter on trivialities. Now….

_Chapter Twenty-Four: __Cards and Chocolates_

The month of January had passed with little other incident—Inuyasha spent his human period of that month inside the house playing video games with Kagome and Souta--and February seemed to follow suit.

Sango and Inuyasha practiced every day in the evening and usually the whole day on the weekends and days off. While Grampa had trained Inuyasha up quite a bit, Sango did prove to always be a challenge but the hanyou could defeat her. Their battles were always controlled yet cleverly executed. Neither one could say the other didn't get a lick in, however.

The first two weeks had been especially hard, and he had felt a bit drained after each practice—rightfully so; battling against a young woman whose family had trained to be able to defeat demons and had mastered her craft was no slouch in combat. He would win by narrow margins, but each time Inuyasha began to gain a sense of strength; Sango said he was improving.

As they wrapped up the final weeks of January, Inuyasha was on an equal footing with his training partner.

By the first half of February, Sango was having to go to her breaking point to try and defeat Inuyasha, and right now, Kagome was cheering them both on from the entryway.

"Come on, Sango! Don't let him push you back!" said girl shouted as her friend used her massive boomerang bone to block attacks from the transformed Tetsusaiga.

Sango grit her teeth for a moment before suddenly ducking and then smacking Inuyasha's legs with Hiraikotsu, effectively knocking him off his feet. She charged at him, drawing the sword from her hip with her right hand and holding her large weapon with her left.

"Inuyasha, you better move!" Kagome watched as her fiancé flipped backwards, kicking Sango's sword out of her hand and moving his own blade, which he'd never dropped, up to her throat.

The pair stood there, catching breath until they started laughing.

"Great job, Inuyasha," congratulated Sango, setting Hiraikotsu to the ground and retrieving her sword.

Inuyasha tucked his blade away with a flourish. "You're not bad either."

Grinning, Kagome walked over to them, bottles of water in hand. "Here." She handed one to each. "That was amazing, guys."

Sango appreciatively took a long drink from the bottle. "Thanks. Hey, Kagome, could you get me a towel?"

"I thought you brought one with you, Sango." Kagome tipped her head curiously.

She shrugged. "I forgot it today."

"Oh, ok. No problem." Smiling, the girl bounced out of the room.

Waiting for a moment, Sango wiped her hand off on the leg of her skin-tight black slayer's outfit and turned to the half-demon. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day."

Inuyasha swallowed a mouthful of water. "Yeah, so?"

"Do you want me or Miroku to pick up something for Kagome from you?" Sango undid her hair tie so she could readjust her ponytail.

"What for?" He took another swig. "It's just some big commercial holiday. Besides, who wants to celebrate a holiday that has an imp flying around with a diaper on supposedly shooting you with magical arrows to make you fall in love?"

"I never understood that part either, but I'm sure Kagome would appreciate the gesture. You _do_ care about Kagome, don't you, Inuyasha?" the girl asked, eyes crackling with a threatening light.

"Of course I do!" Inuyasha flushed, glaring at her nonetheless. "But do I have to show her on some specific day of the year?"

Sango shook her head. "No, of course not. It's just that she's going to get Valentine's from other guys at school."

A growl escaped the hanyou's lips, yet before he could make any accusations or death threats, Kagome re-entered the room with a couple of towels. "Sorry, I had to wait until Souta got out of the bathroom. There weren't any left in the linen closet."

Nodding, each took a towel from the girl.

Kagome smiled at them. "I can't wait until tomorrow."

Sango shot Inuyasha a furtive glance prior to smiling at her best friend. "Me either."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, Inuyasha isn't planning on giving Kagome anything?" Miroku asked, driving Sango home later that night.

She shook her head, leaning against the window. "So it seems. But, she has something for him."

"I sense trouble on the horizon." He braked at a stoplight, the car engine idling demurely.

Sango looked to Miroku. "Your car sounds a little quieter than before, and the paint job's a lot better."

"Oh, that." The monk chuckled as the light flickered to green and they started rolling again. "A present from Sesshoumaru, for taking care of Inuyasha, and not being able to get all that blood out of the seats."

"You mean Sesshoumaru actually _gave_ you this new Camry?" Sango blinked disbelievingly. Why wasn't she getting good perks for putting up with ill-tempered hanyou, too?

"Well, with a little convincing," Miroku replied nonchalantly, peeking at a woman wearing some rather tight clothing before turning the corner.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by 'convincing'?"

"He seemed less abhorrent to the idea when I merely said that I would entertain Inuyasha for a while with some humorous stories—perhaps the time I heard Kagura reciting "Oh, Captain, My Captain" to him would have been very funny to his little brother." Miroku pulled in front of Sango's house.

Shaking her head again, she sighed as she exited the vehicle, "Only you would blackmail our employer… And, Miroku?"

"Yes, lovely Sango?"

"Kindly remove your hand from my bottom."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Happy Valentine's Day, Higurashi!"

"Huh?" Kagome turned around as she entered the school building to see Houjou locking his bike up and starting to jog towards her. "Oh, you, too, Houjou."

"H-here," he panted, pulling out a square package wrapped in pink paper from his school case. "I got this for you."

Not knowing how to refuse the gift without hurting Houjou's feelings, Kagome hesitatingly accepted the parcel and opened it up. Inside of the box was a simple, silver charm bracelet with three charms on it: a rose, a dove, and a star. Beneath it was some wrapped chocolates. "Thank you, Houjou…" She slid the bracelet on and tucked the chocolate into her bag. She turned guilty eyes onto the boy, and said apologetically, "I didn't bring any Valentine's Day presents for anyone."

Houjou grinned, smoothing out his reddish-brown hair with a hand. "That's all right, Higurashi. There's always White Day, isn't there?"

Kagome smiled back. "Of course." She spotted Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi on the steps waving excitedly at her. "I better get going. Bye, Houjou." She gave a short nod before sprinting to where her friends stood.

"Kagome, did you just get a present from Houjou?" Yuka asked earnestly, snatching the girl by the wrist and hauling her up the last three steps.

She stumbled forward. "Y-yeah."

Eri gasped. "No fair! The last time you went out with him you smacked him in the nose!"

Kagome blinked, inquiring, "How do you know that?"

Waving a hand to negate the question, Eri peered intently at Kagome. "I've been trying to get Houjou's attention since the sixth grade, and you've only known him this year and he totally has the hots for you!" She stamped a foot. "It's not fair."

"It's not like I even want Houjou, Eri," Kagome responded in a subdued voice.

Yuka's jaw dropped. "You DON'T? Are you _crazy_?"

She shrugged, heading for the school doors. "No. I like Houjou—he's nice and all, but I'm just not interested in him that way."

Ayumi, always the quietest of the group, spoke up softly, a smile of the same on her face, "There's another guy, isn't there, Kagome?"

Kagome stopped and turned to look at her friends a few strides behind. Unlike Sango and Miroku, these three did not know about the arranged marriage—about the real Inuyasha.

"Kagome's got herself a real Valentine's Day sweetheart, doesn't she?" bubbled Eri, dreamy ideas of what her and Houjou's future hypothetical children would look like already dancing about her head; if Kagome was out of the way, _obviously_ she would get Houjou.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Kagome…" a roughly pleasant voice greeted from the doorway that she had her back to.

Turning, feeling the icy prickle, she wasn't surprised to see Kouga standing there. "You, too."

"I have something for you." Kouga smiled toothily at her, a fang catching the light.

Kagome simply sighed internally. "You do?" she asked flat-toned.

Kouga handed her a long velvet box. "Open it."

Complying, the girl gasped at what she saw there. "Kouga, I can't accept this!" She pushed it back to him, yet he merely waggled his head and extracted a beautiful—no doubt expensive—necklace from the box.

"It's rude to refuse a gift."

"W-well, I—uh," she spluttered as the wolf demon took the diamond pendant and slipped it over her head. The diamond was the size of Kagome's thumbnail, and plenty bigger than any gem she had ever owned before. It shimmered in a handsome array of iridescent colors. "K-Kouga…"

"That is the best clear diamond the jeweler had," he explained, apparently enjoying the shell-shocked look on the girl's face. "And the chain is made of real platinum."

"Kouga, I really can't accept this. It had to be extremely expensive." Kagome raised her hand to grasp either side of the chain, but was stopped by the boy's larger hand.

"It was—only the best for my Kagome."

"But—"

"My family is rich you know. I can afford it." He slid an arm around her waist. "Don't worry your pretty head about it. Meet me at the park after school and we can go for a walk together."

"But—" she started again, yet was foiled once more when Kouga gave her a peck on the head and dashed off. She sighed deeply. _I know Inuyasha's not gonna like this… This wasn't how my Valentine's Day was supposed to go._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Welcome home, Sis," Souta greeted when Kagome came home that afternoon.

"Hey." She slipped her shoes off and crossed over to the staircase. Kagome was in better spirits, giggling to herself as she clutched the strap of her bag tighter. It had gotten slightly heavier from the candies and cards in there. "Where's Inuyasha?"

Souta popped a gumdrop in his mouth from the container in his hand. "He's playing _Mortal Combat_. Do you want me to get him?"

"Yeah." Kagome continued up the steps as her brother did as asked.

Going up to her room, she tossed her case beneath her desk and quickly took off the pendant Kouga gave her, putting it back in the velvet box, which she had stuck in her pocket on her the way home. Then she thumbed through the sock drawer of her dresser. Smiling, she found the small gold tin and a card taped onto it.

"What's up, Kagome?" asked Inuyasha as he entered the room.

The girl bounced over to him, the tin and card in hand. "Here, this is for you."

"Huh?" He took the present and looked to his fiancée's cheery face. He broke the tape and slit open the top of the envelope with a claw. Looking at the plucky Valentine ("I really hope we get to know each other a lot better. Hope this makes you smile!"), Inuyasha's gaze slid to Kagome as he flipped the tin's lid, revealing some lemon drops. He stared at the candies for a moment before peering dryly back to Kagome again. "Thanks, but I hope you're not expecting anything, because I didn't get you anything. All this Valentine's Day stuff is a load of bull."

Kagome blinked, feeling sad for a moment, before anger overtook the joviality in her eyes. "Talk about a left-handed compliment! I gave you a gift and you belittle it because it's for Valentine's Day? What's wrong with you?" she asked, both questions coming out as exclamations.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Inuyasha protested, flapping the lid harshly into place again. "It's what's wrong with you! It's just a stupid holiday card companies, candy makers, and jewelers devised to fill-in the money gap, that's all it is." He crossed his arms haughtily, signaling the end of the conversation.

But, Kagome wasn't ready to. "Have you no romantic bone in your body?"

"Keh. Why should anyone have to be romantic on a specific day of the year?"

"I'm not saying that, Inuyasha," she snipped. "What I mean is, how hard is for you to just give me a simple 'thank you' and a smile? You didn't have to give me anything but that."

"Hmph." He snorted, then took in a long exhale. Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "What's that stench covering you?"

"What stench?" Kagome glared at him as he came closer, frowning, and sniffed the air around her.

Inuyasha growled. "It's that stupid wolf demon Kouga. What the hell were you doing with him? I told you I didn't want you to be around him."

"Who do you think you are? You can't just tell me who I can and can't be around."

"I'm your fiancé and you better damn well listen to me."

Gold sparked against the cobalt.

"Fine," Kagome said crisply, defiantly swallowing the slight cry that wanted to rise in her throat. "You want to know about what Kouga was doing today? He gave me that." She pointed sharply to the box containing the necklace sitting innocently on her desk. "And Houjou gave me this bracelet." She waved her wrist in front of the hanyou's nose, smacking it with the rose charm. "And it was very sweet of them both! And Kouga asked me to go for a walk in the park with him, and I am going to!"

Inuyasha gaped dubiously at her until he regained his faculties. "I've already told you, bitch, you're not allowed to go see that stupid, skinny wolf!"

Kagome stomped over to the desk, took the box in one huffy motion and marched by him. "You can't tell me what to do, jerk!"

Thinking fast, Inuyasha leapt in front of her just as she was going to go down the stairs. "Yes, I can!"

"No, you can't!" she screamed back into his face, getting extremely fed up. "Happy Valentine's Day, Inuyasha, you big, stupid jerk!" She pushed him once, making him flail and almost lose his balance.

Inuyasha grabbed hold of the railing as Kagome continued to obdurately tramp past. He whirled around and grabbed hold of her arm. "I'm coming with you then. There's no way in the seven hells I'm leaving you alone with that guy."

Facing him, blue eyes flickering with internal flame, Kagome's gaze bored into his. Slowly, a smile crossed her mouth. "All right." She reached into her pocket. "You can." Pulling the collar out of the pocket of her green skirt, the girl quickly secured it around her fiancé's neck and watched with some satisfaction as he changed into a dog.

_"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"_ he ground out, slipping out of his clothes.

"Oh, so much."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Kagome, glad you showed up." Kouga grinned at her, but frowned when he spotted the husky at her side. "You brought your cur?"

She shrugged. "He was just begging to come."

_"Oh, funny…"_

"Oh, and, Kouga," she pulled out the box containing the necklace and handed it to the boy, "I really can't keep this."

He stared at it. "You…you don't like it?" he asked softly.

Kagome, who was totally prepared for this, launched into speech. "Kouga, I like it, but it's the fact that it just wouldn't be right of me to keep it. I think this walk with you will be a lot more…meaningful."

Inuyasha snorted.

Kouga stared at her for a moment before laughing, "That's my Kagome—humble as anything. All right, then. I don't want to offend you." He made to slip an arm around her but Inuyasha scooted over and growled possessively.

_"Be glad I'm not gonna rip you to shreds for breathing near her. You better feel lucky I'm letting you even _look_ at her. Not touching!"_

"Uh…" Kagome blushed slightly, quickly saying, "I think he's saying, from one canine to another, that, um, you're on his turf."

"Of course," Kouga mumbled, glaring curiously at the dog.

"Let's go once around the park," suggested the girl with a feigned smile. "I really have to get home and study for math."

"Whatever you want, Kagome."

_"Gag me…"_ Inuyasha woofed, trotting between the two as they began their trek.

"So, um, Kouga," began Kagome, holding tightly onto Inuyasha's chain link leash, "one of your friends…Ginta, I think, said you were home schooled for a while. That true?"

He nodded, his black ponytail swishing like a tail. "Yeah, I had a governess who taught me everything except English."

"Is that why you're a year behind in it?" she asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, but I'm learning it pretty fast." He flashed a grin at her and she laughed slightly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and focused on everything else in the park—anything to get away from this mind-numbing conversation.

The trees were starting to come back to life, already becoming a healthy green hue in the buds. A few tiny flowers had bloomed, and grass was poking out from the earth. The air smelled like the beginning of spring.

A bunch of people were out, mostly couples holding hands or smooching (Inuyasha quickly double-checked on Kagome—good, none of that going on with her and skinny wolf) and a few vendors, but there were quite a few kids running around playing, and some people were walking their dogs.

Whenever Inuyasha walked by a fellow canine, they had a tendency to sniff after him, no doubt wondering about why he smelled like a half-demon.

As they were about halfway around the park, Inuyasha scented something almost enticing, but he couldn't place it. Hearing the tinkle of metal, he turned his head a bit to see a very well-groomed poodle trot up to him.

_"Hello,"_ she greeted, coming up and nuzzling her muzzle to his.

Inuyasha shied away, up close to Kagome's legs, who continued to chat with Kouga. _"Uh, hey."_ He sniffed again and realized, with a groan, this was this poodle-bitch's time of heat.

And apparently, while looking for a mating partner, she'd honed in on him.

_"Why don't you come here?"_ She trotted closer, a collar on but no leash.

_"How about you stay away?"_ He ran up further, tugging Kagome forward.

"Careful, Inuyasha," the girl said, regaining her pace, "you'll make me trip."

_"So,"_ the poodle started, her white puff tail wagging, _"why don't you—"_

_"Not interested," _cut in Inuyasha.

Kagome heard her former-hanyou whimper. She glanced down and spotted the poodle harassing him. "Get out of here." She nudged the poodle with her foot away from Inuyasha.

The poodle sniffed indignantly, but continued to pursue Inuyasha at a little further distance. _"Why do you smell so odd?"_

_"I'm a hanyou, ok, bitch?"_ he snapped. _"I'm not interested, you hussy mutt." _There was a quarter left of the walk.

_"Mutt?__ I am a pureblood!" _

_"Ok, whatever. Just beat it. I think that terrier over by that last tree was willing."_

_"But, I want you…"_ She cuddled against Inuyasha's flank.

_"Kagome, we're outta here!"_

"—my pen pal lives in America, and she was telling me about her family's ice cream parlor—" Kagome was yanked forward as Inuyasha suddenly accelerated in speed. "Kya! Inuyasha!"

"Kagome!" Kouga shouted to her, a tad stupefied for a moment. "That damn dog…"

The wolf demon charged after her as the white-haired husky insanely dashed onward with a little white poodle loping daintily after.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You were bothered by a poodle?" Kagome laughed later, standing outside the bathroom as Inuyasha got dressed.

"I was being sexually harassed," he shouted from within the room.

"Yeah, by a _poodle._" The girl snickered.

"Shut up!"

Kagome continued to giggle even as her fiancé stormed out and glared at her while adjusting his button-up white shirt, before looking perplexed as to why it wasn't falling correctly. Finally, she came over to him. "You didn't button it right, you dork," she said teasingly. "Let me fix that." Her slender fingers went nimbly to work, unintentionally caressing the hanyou's muscles slightly as she re-buttoned his entire shirt.

After hearing his tale of woe about the poodle, and just thinking that was punishment enough, Kagome had forgiven him. Inuyasha was just a pain sometimes, and just wasn't very romantic. _That's just the way he is,_ she concluded as she smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt.

Souta emerged from his room, a strategy guide in hand and a sleepy-eyed Buyo hanging from his back. "Hey, Sis, I didn't know you were back."

"Mm-hmm." The boy stood there for a moment, appearing very pensive. "What is it, Souta?"

He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah. There's something for you in your room." He grinned broadly at them, and winked at Inuyasha who stared back. "See ya." Souta trotted by them and down the stairs.

"Hmm, wonder what it is…" Kagome mused aloud, toddling towards her room with Inuyasha close behind. She pushed open her bedroom door, gasped, then let out a little squeal and clasped her hands together.

Inuyasha continued to gape confusedly as she darted inside the bedroom and plopped down on the floor. He sniffed, catching a flowery aroma, like roses.

He took a step in, and was immediately assaulted by Kagome, who had leapt back up faster than even he could see. "Wh-what?"

"You jerk!" she laughed, hugging him tightly around the middle. "You totally had me convinced."

"What?" he intelligently asked again.

"This of course, silly!" She pointed to the basket that had five red roses and one white rose in the very center of the arrangement. An unwrapped carton of chocolates sat beneath it. Kagome gave him another squeeze before looking up at him with a loving smile. "Thank you so much. Roses and cherry cordials, how did you know my favorite flower and candy?"

"I, uh—"

Kagome gave him another hug. "This is so sweet of you."

"Uh…yeah…" Inuyasha said slowly, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Uh, Kagome—"

"Oh, here," she released him and picked up two cards, passing him one of them. "The one you picked out was so nice. 'I've never been happier than I have with you'," she read from the small card left in her hand. She sighed contentedly once before giggling again.

_True as that is…I didn't send her anything…_ Inuyasha thought, meeting up with his old friend confusion again. He glimpsed at the card in his own grasp. It was sealed with a short bit of clear tape.

Breaking the adhesive tape, Inuyasha opened the card. Within, there was a simple message:

Inuyasha—

You owe us for this. We figured you wouldn't do anything for Kagome, so we did. You can pay us back later.

---Miroku and Sango

P.S. Call your brother.

"What was it?" Kagome inquired, now going through her closet for a vase.

"Uh, just an advertisement." Inuyasha quickly ripped it into indistinct pieces and shoved them in his pocket; with any luck, it'd go through the wash and become dryer lint. "Well, I'm glad you liked it. Happy Valentine's Day, Kagome."

She smiled. "Thank you. Why did you do this for me?"

He smirked, before replying, "What? You don't think I know how to be a _little_ romantic?"

Kagome shook her head, popping a cherry cordial in her mouth. "You win, you win."

"Heh. No kidding." Inuyasha smirked again. "I've gotta call Sesshoumaru."

"What for?"

One of his ears twitched. "I can hear my phone beeping."

"Oh, ok."

Inuyasha jogged out of the room. He'd thank Sango and Miroku later, but he sure as hell wasn't going to pay them back.

Then again, they did know the truth…

Maybe he would…

Going into his room, Inuyasha pulled out his cell phone from the chest he kept his clothes in. "Let's see here… What was Sesshoumaru's number…?"

"It's in the electronic telephone book," Myouga piped up from the hanyou's futon. "Just find it and click the green button."

Inuyasha managed to access the directory, and hit the aforementioned button when he highlighted his brother's name. "How'd you learn all that?" he inquired, bringing the phone up to where a human ear would be.

"I read the manual for something to do," the flea said simply.

"Kind of sad."

After two rings, the phone picked up. "Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru sounded as unsurprised as ever.

"You needed to speak to me."

"Tomorrow, little brother, we will head for our father's grave. The Black Pearl."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: First off, White Day is celebrated in Japan. It's March 14th and is the day you give a gift to whoever gave you a gift or Valentine on Valentine's Day. Second: my niece and I have been debating this, but is that tail Kouga has…is it his or did he steal it from one of his wolves as a fashion accessory? (I'm seriously wondering!) Sorry for taking so long, but it's been a little hard to plan out this chapter and earlier today and the day before I was a little down-in-the-dumps. I'm ok now. Anyways. Next chapter: A Scion's Trial. Sounds promising, huh?

Moonlight Shadow


	25. A Scion's Trial

_Disclaimer: _If I did, this wouldn't be fan fiction.

A/N: I'm debating whether or not to change the rating on this story (on at least) from PG-13 to R, but let me tell you right now that if I do, the story itself will continue to move in the way it has been. I'm thinking of rating it this for language because I want to be safe from anyone who might try to get me and/or my stories booted off. Better safe than sorry. Please let me know your opinions. __

I'm rubbing my hands together, eager to get to this. I have wanted to reach this point in the storyline for sometime, and finally, I will get to show you what's been making me so earnest. Ok, the Tetsusaiga stays in Inu's room when he's a dog. Um, about the Kouga tail thing, it's a split, so for the sake of argument, I'm going to say Kouga has a tail as well as Sesshoumaru. I flipped a coin again, so please no messages of debate, because this isn't up for debate—this is what I will do. All I know is that Sesshoumaru's pelt/tail is the same as his dad's, so I'm just going to call it a tail for the sake of argument. Kouga's tail might have moved, I don't know, but let's just say he has a tail and that is the feature that connects him to the wolves, ok?

I meant Capricorn but said Aquarius—my mom's Aquarius, hence the mistake.

This chapter has a song for some reason: "Twilight and Shadow" from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

_Chapter Twenty-Five: __A__ Scion's Trial_

Kagome and Inuyasha were riding in the rear of a black luxury car with Sesshoumaru the next morning. Jaken had been left at the mansion with Kagura to help her deal with the affairs while the master was out of the house—or more accurately, be of some amusement to his mistress.

Inuyasha had told his fiancée what his brother had said when he returned to her room after the phone call. They had decided she would be coming along and Sesshoumaru had agreed that it was most likely for the best; they didn't need any unnecessary brushes with Naraku or anyone working for him. While he probably was not aware that Inuyasha was alive and kicking, it was quite clear that he wanted Kagome out of the way.

Besides, Kagome had already stated that she would not let him just leave her oblivious. She had told her mom that she was going with Inuyasha and his brother on some more family business. While Mama was not pleased at the idea of her missing school, she reasoned that Kagome did have the right to know more about her betrothed.

So, here they were, sitting in silence, vaguely able to see outside through the tinted windows, while they continued to jar slightly as the car rolled over a deserted country road. The faintly recognizable silhouettes of trees waving eerily in the breeze were dark against a field of various shades of gray. The denser the trees grew together, the more they looked like looming monsters of inconceivable size and strength, born into and yielding to the consuming shadows.

The luxury car began to slow down unevenly until finally coming to a stop. Ahead of them was an opening in the heavy forestry—just big enough for a person to squeeze through.

Sesshoumaru gently pushed open his door. "We will have to walk from here. It is not far. Come, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha opened his car door and slid out before reaching in to help Kagome out, who had been seated between the two dog brothers with Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga in her lap. She handed her fiancé his sword first before stepping out with the Tenseiga.

Striding evenly over, Sesshoumaru took his sword from the girl also while his brother slammed the door shut. He tapped once on the driver's window and mouthed, "Wait," at him.

The driver bobbed his head and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel.

Kagome and Inuyasha followed Sesshoumaru as he passed into the breach of the trees. Gradually, as they pushed some branches out of their way, a clearing was revealed. They were standing on a slope that led down to a basin with a smooth bubble of ebony right in the middle of it.

Kagome rubbed at her arms as the wind blew softly on her skin. She felt nervous for some inexplicable reason and the shadow-cast sky above wasn't making matters any better.

"So this is the old man's tomb?" Inuyasha asked, taking a few steps to the very edge of the hill as he tucked Tetsusaiga beneath his brown leather belt.

His brother nodded once, moving to stand abreast of him. "Indeed it is." Sesshoumaru's tail remained curled impassively around his right shoulder while he gazed into the distance at the tomb with quiet reverence. After a moment, he began to walk evenly down the knoll.

Inuyasha started after his brother, but paused and looked to the solitary girl still poised at the crest of the hill. "Come on, Kagome, let's go."

Her azure eyes had gained an almost ethereal quality as she continued to peer at the sepulcher with confusion and wonderment. She blinked once before shaking her head and scuttling over to where Inuyasha waited. "Right…"

"Kagome," he caught hold of her arm as she almost slipped down the thin grass of the rounded incline, and pulled her towards him, "you look like something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

She stared at him for a time until she bit her lip and glimpsed over to the grave. "I just have this weird feeling…like sensing something…and that something is going to happen…something with lots of power."

The shadows played freely over the massive grave-clearing as the sun was obscured by clouds. Everything was tinged with gray. The wind caressed Kagome's skin again, but an even deeper shiver was evoked this time.

Inuyasha locked his gaze on his father's burial place as well. "I know kind of what you mean…. Look, Sesshoumaru's pretty far ahead of us--we should get moving again."

Nodding slowly, Kagome descended with Inuyasha. She held onto his arm to keep from stumbling until they reached the base of the hillock and met the wide top edge of the bowl the tomb rested in.

"This is the Black Pearl," Sesshoumaru murmured, standing the closest to the rim of the basin.

Kagome only gaped in awe. The Black Pearl was so massive that it blocked much of the remaining sunlight and seemingly left the sky with a dark, otherworldly vortex.

Coming to the edge also, Inuyasha jumped easily into the depression. "So, how exactly do we get into this?" He looked around part of the width. "I don't see the doors."

Sesshoumaru leapt in and landed soundlessly beside his brother. "Quite simple." He snatched Inuyasha's hand and grazed his brother's fingertip with a claw.

Inuyasha let out a short hiss as he jerked his hand away. A rivulet of blood was beginning to blossom along the cut. "Damn it, Sesshoumaru! You mind explaining why you sliced my finger open?"

"Do not whine like a whelp, little brother," said Sesshoumaru with a slight smirk. "Place your finger tip as high up as you can reach and draw a line downwards."

After a muttered curse or two, the hanyou dragged his bleeding finger over the cool, flawless surface of the tomb, leaving a ribbon of blood in its wake. Shaking his hand and then jamming it in his jeans pocket, Inuyasha waited.

The blood trickled down for a second before a line of bluish light cut straight through it. The light sliced along the horizon at the very peak of the vertical incision and again at the very bottom. Inuyasha took a step back as the rounded stone began to tremble. Then, with an aged groan, the hewn sections of the Black Pearl parted outwards.

"Amazing," breathed Kagome, hopping into the depression with the brothers. She squinted, peering into the impenetrable inky depths beyond. "I can't see a thing."

Sesshoumaru stepped forward and touched the thick width of the crypt's door. "Inuyasha, it was our father's wish that you be the only one whose blood would be able to unlock the very tomb itself," he said softly, facing the darkness fore him. "Myouga was quite helpful in telling me the exact methods of unsealing it…. " He started into the shadowy deep.

Inuyasha and Kagome followed after the elegant demon into the chamber. Their footsteps patted in a dull tone on the stone. They whirled around when they heard the Black Pearl's doors shut again.

"Are we sealed in?" squeaked Kagome, now launched into absolute darkness.

"It is just to make sure we have no one following us," responded Sesshoumaru's voice. Light began to fill the cavern as candles and torches along the wall were lit in one even wave. "The fixtures in here are enchanted to light for whoever enters the tomb—or more accurately, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha remained silent, watching his brother's stoic face waver with fire glow. Looking around, he saw that on the other side of the chamber there was a tall mirror with an intricate frame of black metal; not far from it was an open doorway. He walked to the opposite side of the cavern to see what lay beyond the open passage, yet stopped when he saw his reflection pass across the mirror.

His face was illuminated by the firelight and a strange glow that seemed to radiate from within him. Curious, he stepped over to it, and saw that the glow came not from him but from Kagome. When he glanced back, however, there was no such radiance from her, although he remembered seeing a watered down version of the aura about her once before, back at her father's grave.

_That's kind of weird…_ he thought, gazing at Kagome intently. _Wonder what kind of mirror this is… _Inuyasha turned to the mirror once more as a distorted face of smoke crossed over the glass. It disappeared so quickly that he didn't get a chance to react, but then a much different scene colored the looking glass--one of a place so close but so out of reach, a place, though he'd never visited, knew.

Kagome stepped over to Inuyasha, inquisitive as to why such a myriad of emotions that were flickering over his face as he stared at the mirror. "Inuyasha…" she stopped when she saw the strange collection of skeletal birds and mist circling about a hulking skeleton. "What is that place?"

"That's the demons' graveyard…" he replied, touching a claw onto the image of the skeleton that sat like a huge mountain in the center of the scene. "Father…."

"_That's_ your father? He's huge."

"That is his resting place," Sesshoumaru said, now holding a torch and standing a beat away at the open entryway. "He is at peace… Let us proceed down these stairs to the catacombs. The deed to the Western Lands will be in the last room."

The pair nodded and moved away from the mirror and fell in step behind Sesshoumaru once more—he seemed to know where they were going.

The stairs were also cleaved out of the stone and they curved distantly downward. The walls were craggy and loomed menacingly at the trio as their trek to the next level grew longer and longer. Any light from the Sesshoumaru's torch was absorbed as soon as it touched any part of the black chamber. Cool air and cobwebs continued to surround the group as they finally reached the lower floor.

Sesshoumaru faced the pair. "This is the catacombs."

This chamber of the catacombs had a high ceiling and extended longest to the east and the west from what anyone could tell.

Peering intently ahead, Inuyasha remarked, "I think I see another doorway…or something up there."

"I believe this is where our swords will be needed for they will act as a key does in a keyhole." Sesshoumaru glanced down at Tenseiga hanging at his side. Reciting quietly, as if to his blade, "Two must be present, four in all, and it shall be revealed to the destined…"

The group carefully navigated around some of the dips and water-filled depressions as they crossed to the wall.

On the wall itself there were two slats with a seam in between that stretched from the catacomb's roof to its floor—a door. The oldest thrust his katana into the niche on the eastern side, while the younger placed his in the western one. Another strobe of sapphire light flared.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru became cloaked by energy; their youkis mingled together and with the blue light—Inutaisho's warding. Then the stoneware doors trembled gradually apart.

As the wall separated, the brothers withdrew their katanas. The three then entered abreast, with plenty of space to either side as the sections continued to slowly grind away from the other. This chamber was much smaller than the others with two tunnels leading out.

"Uh-oh," the girl said, gaze flickering from one passage to the other, "this isn't good. Which one do we take?"

Sesshoumaru handed the torch to Inuyasha. "I shall take the one on the right, while you and Kagome take the left."

While the hanyou adjusted his hold on the torch, Kagome asked, "Don't you need the light, Sesshoumaru?"

"I will be fine. My sight is superior." He strode evenly to his designated passageway. "Inuyasha is taking you with him, so you must be looked after as well."

"Oh…" she murmured as Sesshoumaru disappeared into the darkness. "Kind of a complex guy."

"You have no idea…" sarcastically mumbled Inuyasha. "Anyway, let's go down the one on the left."

"Ok."

"Stick close to me," he reminded her as they advanced to the Black Pearl's corridor. "I don't want to lose you and have to look for your sorry butt."

Kagome clicked her tongue as she rolled her eyes. "Boy, Inuyasha, you absolutely have a way with words."

"Keh."

The tunnel was a bit narrow and jagged, but they walked slowly in their bubble of light. It was a bit like how their lives were right now—amidst the darkness of not knowing what would happen next, Inuyasha and Kagome retained some knowledge, some comfort. As long as they had their circle of allies, the shadows of doubt could not touch them, yet where there is light, there is shadow. Shadows of uncertainty and worry followed after them—in spite of that, with each step Kagome and Inuyasha took together, a light of hope and courage pierced the dark wonderland.

As they rounded a bend, Kagome tripped on rock and toppled forward. Inuyasha's arm flew around her waist and yanked her against him again as they stumbled into another wall. The torch smacked into the hewn stone as well but remarkably remained lit.

"Oof… That really smarted…" Kagome carefully pulled away from her fiancé and stared down at her ankle. Flexing it a little, her nerves gave a twinge of pain. "I think I bruised it or something…"

"Klutz…" he muttered. As Inuyasha helped her to stand on her own two feet, she went rigid and fell back into his arms, trancelike. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

"I can sense it again," she whispered, staring straight forward as if seeing something that he couldn't.

"What? What do you sense?"

"That…that thing from before." Kagome kept silent for a moment, as if scanning the area, before saying quietly," There." She pointed at the wall behind the half-demon. "All that power is emanating from there." Moving from the cradle of Inuyasha's arms, Kagome winced as she put weight on her injured ankle. "It's like two different energies are mixed together, so it's hard to discriminate."

Inuyasha shifted his grip on the torch. As he turned, the beam played across the wall in a wave, hitting the depths and valleys of the stone in a familiar, craggy relief. "Hmm…Then how do we get inside?"

"Maybe there's a hidden door or something."

"Hey, what's that?" Holding his free hand back to Kagome for support, Inuyasha stepped closer to the wall.

There was an emblem of some kind sculpted into the stone; it seemed to have been placed there with exceptional care, judging from the way it was flawlessly cut.

Kagome took hold of her fiancé's hand, gripping tightly onto his palm. "Maybe it's a way inside," she suggested, toddling up beside him.

"Never know. Now…how to work it…?" His mouth slid into a pensive frown as he felt around the crest for a seam or hitch or something that might open the wall. Other than the natural coarseness, there was no definite crack. "Damn!"

The girl felt over the barrier as well. Her fingers glided across the strange crest. She could faintly see, and feel, the decorative engraving of a dog demon pack running around the circular insignia. She traced the design a bit more until her fingertips reached the center and she faintly could see an impression. "It looks like a handprint," she mused aloud. "Hey, Inuyasha."

"Huh?" He cocked his head towards her.

Kagome traced one of the relief fingers. "Why don't you try putting your hand in here? You were the key that originally unlocked your father's tomb, so maybe you can unlock this door."

"It's worth a shot." Inuyasha slipped his hand away from the girl and faltered it to the emblem where he pressed his hand into the stone mold. It fit his right hand perfectly.

Another burst of cerulean radiance emitted from the blockade. It began to quaver violently, showering black powder on the pair from the ceiling as the gap opened enough for Inuyasha and Kagome to walk through. As they entered the new chamber, baubles of fire appeared along the walls, granting the hollow fresh light. Their feet made the dust that lay dormant on the limitless-black floor rise like an aged breath of fog.

At the far wall were twin dog statues situated on pedestals. Their features were smooth, yet somehow very realistic in detail as they sat nobly in their opal poise. Even from this large distance, the two massive canines' eyes sparkled with iridescent colors.

"Those statues look so real…it looks like they're gonna come to life any minute." Kagome grasped hold of Inuyasha's arm, still peering at the sculptures warily. "They look like the Grim from English mythology. We just covered that in class last week"

"The Grim, huh?" Inuyasha smirked. "Associated with death, right?"

She nodded, backing away slightly from the looming, high-ceilinged room, even though the couple hadn't pressed much further in than the great entryway. "Yeah. Sort of like the Grim Reaper's pet. It's said that the Grim shuttles the dead to the afterlife. It is supposed to be one of the scariest myths of England."

"So why are you all freaked out for?" asked Inuyasha, glancing at her. "Even if this English myth is true, these are just statues, in case you haven't noticed."

"They just seem really odd to me." Kagome glimpsed back to entryway as Sesshoumaru strode in.

Inuyasha followed her gaze and snorted at his brother's entrance. "Took you long enough, jack ass."

Ignoring him, Sesshoumaru inquired, "How exactly do they seem amiss?"

Kagome moved her gaze from the elegant demon to the pair of immortalized Grim. "They give off some kind of energy…like they're alive or something. It's really creeping me out."

"Hey, Sesshoumaru," asked the hanyou as his brother stood askance to him, "why are there English dogs of Hell in Dad's tomb?"

"Our father was powerful, Inuyasha, and had seen many centuries—those ones in which he gained the most respect was when the samurai was still a driving force in our society, if only for about a hundred or two hundred years. Though it was a 'civil' time in which he perished, Father retained his respect and control over many dog demons—not just of the western domain, but of this world and the ether." Sesshoumaru lethargically set his pale gaze on his brother. "That is what Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga represent—part of Father's legacy for us to inherit."

"Legacy, huh?" Inuyasha crossed his right hand to the battered hilt of his blade. Drawing his sword, he whispered to himself, "An inheritance that might lead to our own legacy, Tetsusaiga…" Adding as an afterthought as it transformed, _Whatever__ that may be…_

Sesshoumaru said in a low voice, "There is glyph on the opposite side. With any luck, the deed might be right behind it."

"Kind of nice that the catacombs are actually pretty linear." Kagome pushed a hand through her filthy hair, making a face as she felt dirt roll between her fingers. "I guess your father felt like he had enough protection with the first three doors."

"Well, if the deed's over there," Inuyasha returned the torch to his brother, "let's hurry up and get it." He took a few steps forward before ceasing.

The eyes of the two canines of death had flickered with light before glowing to an amber color.

"What the…?"

A rippling affect passed over the coat of the stone dogs, the sheen from the smooth surface died as it transfigured into a bristled texture. Low growls rumbled in ominous echoes as their chops rose to reveal alabaster fangs. Dropping their forepaws forcefully to the ground, the dogs continued to snarl as they skulked forward, gradually leaving their pedestals.

_"We are the guardians of the tomb of the honorable Lord Inutaisho,"_ they said in unison. _"We have sworn our eternal loyalty to him and to any of his pack. Only those of his lineage may pass before us."_

"I am his son!" shouted Inuyasha, holding Tetsusaiga before him. "Let me go through!"

The dog on the left lifted his great snout and sniffed the air. A doglike smile crossed his muzzle. _"I can smell his blood in you as well as that of a human. You must be the younger, Inuyasha."_

The dog on the right likewise lifted his nose and snuffled. _"And the one in back is the eldest, Sesshoumaru."_

"Indeed," he replied coolly.

_"You, Lord Sesshoumaru, have nothing to prove to us. You wield Tenseiga, the blade of the heavens." _The Grim stretched its forelegs and bowed its head between them. _"Your father said you had already proven your competency, and as the eldest, is exempt from this trial."_ He straightened up, glowing eyes fixing on Inuyasha. _"But you still must undergo and prove your worth—prove to us that you truly are worthy to be called a son of Inutaisho, wielder of Tetsusaiga, the sentinel blade of this world."_

"What exactly are you going to make him do?" Kagome questioned quietly.

The dog on the left looked to her. _"He will have to defeat us with no assistance."_

Kagome gasped. _He has to fight them alone…! _"But…"

"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha replied breezily. "I can do it. I _am_ from Inutaisho's family line. Just stay out of the way, Kagome."

_ "You needn't worry about the girl, for we will attack neither her nor Lord Sesshoumaru—only you, Inuyasha."_

"Fine." He gripped the hilt tightly. "I'm ready."

The Grim dogs exchanged glances. _"We will now test your strength."_ And with a howl, the pair of dogs came at the hanyou.

Inuyasha leapt out of the way as they both sprang at him. He landed beside the left pedestal. "Now it's my turn…" With a cry, he ran at one of the dogs with his sword raised.

As he swung the Tetsusaiga, the second Grim bounded at him. Inuyasha rolled to the side, but was still clipped by one of the large paws and was sent sprawling into the walls.

"Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome, horrified as the boy fell heavily to the floor. "Isn't there anything we can do?" She whirled on Sesshoumaru.

The demon man said nothing for a moment as his brother pushed himself up slowly. "This is his fight. He must make our father proud."

Eyebrows knitted in concern, Kagome thought, _Please__ win Inuyasha…_

With a grunt and a groan, Inuyasha got to his feet, only to have to dodge another series of bites and pounces from the colossal canines. Luckily for him, being a hanyou made him extremely agile and quick, but the Grims could hit hard when they made contact; when they missed him again and landed while he was still on the ground, the vibrations made him unbalanced for a moment, and subsequently exposed to attack.

As he stood there stunned, one Grim jumped at him. Inuyasha regained his bearings quick enough to reverse out of the way. The massive dog flew by him, tail sweeping out to smack him. Seeing the thick appendage coming at him, instead of ducking, the hanyou grasped hold of it and used to ride up to the dog's backside.

"This is a bit more even."

_"Catching a ride like a flea?"_ the Grim growled mockingly.

"Keh—you're not gonna be able to squash me like you would that little parasite."

Inuyasha crouched down as his ride rounded to snap at him while the second made to knock him off. Raising Tetsusaiga above his head, he leapt up after the second Grim and thrust his blade into the soft underbelly of the beast and ripped it through the soft flesh. Blood poured in warm falls from its stomach, and Inuyasha dropped onto the first dog's head.

As the injured Grim thudded to the floor with a short spray of crimson, Inuyasha shoved his katana at the junction of this canine of death's shoulder. Twisting the fang-blade slightly, he dragged it along the dog's spine. The Grim gave a loud bark and howling moan of pain, letting out a harsh exhale.

"Let's finish this!" Inuyasha soared into the air, and dived back towards the remaining canine where he thrust Tetsusaiga between its ribs and hacked at the flexible bones, hearing them crack as he pulled the blade through the Grim's side.

Landing once and quickly kicking off again, the hanyou shot back to where Kagome and Sesshoumaru waited; the second Grim fell not far from the first. The two guardians lay panting, licking their wounds; their amber orbs flickered as they stared at Inuyasha as a soft radiance enveloped them.

Kagome rushed towards Inuyasha and threw her arms around him, not caring that he was splattered with blood. "Inuyasha! Are you ok?" She hugged him tight. "I was so scared that you were gonna get killed…"

Inuyasha wrapped his left arm around, while the other continued to uphold Tetsusaiga. "It's all right… I told you I'd be fine—have some faith in me, woman."

She nodded against his chest, giving him a squeeze. "I was just worried…."

"Don't worry, it's all over now," he told her with a slight chuckle in his voice as he twined his claws in the bottom of her hair. "All we have to do now is get the deed."

_ "You have done well, Lord Inuyasha…"_ Aforementioned hanyou and his fiancée turned to the fully healed Grim guardians. _"You have defeated us fairly, and so we can verify the worthiness of your claim as Inutaisho's son." _The pair of canines bowed deeply to Inuyasha as they had to Sesshoumaru. _"What you seek is very close."_

Straightening their long furred bodies, both Grims returned to their respective pedestals and resumed their seated guardianship, although facing each other now. The glossiness of carved stone returned, and the bright eyes faded back to black.

Pulling away from Inuyasha, Kagome peered over at the statues. "What a relief…they're all stone again." Tipping her head to the side, she made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. "I still sense another presence here."

Inuyasha faced the stationary Grims. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He moved his hand to re-sheath Tetsusaiga, but decided against it.

"It's coming from that light over there," Kagome said, gesturing to the space between the statues.

Looking from the stated location to her, Inuyasha scrunched his nose in annoyance. "I don't see any light."

"She may only see it," reasoned Sesshoumaru, who had been simply watching the occurrence with scarcely shown interest, "because of her spiritual powers."

"Oh, yeah. That's right…wonder what she sees."

The girl began walking towards the spot, feeling as if something with otherworldly hands was tugging her forward. She could hear the brothers following after her, so Kagome complied with the sensations' commands and paced all the way to the square of wall protected by the Grims. She stood before the glyph, waiting for the other two. __

_Touch it…_ something inside her begged. _Touch it._

Inuyasha stared befuddled as Kagome reached a hand to touch the crest. So far, all the emblems had opened only for him. Why would that change?

But as he drew closer, he felt a prickle on the nape of his neck as his hairs stood on end. Stopping about three feet behind his fiancée, he tentatively put a hand forward, only to be rewarded by a sharp stab in his hand as barrier crackled over it. "Shit…" He shook his singed appendage as flickering flame of green dissipated from around it. "I guess you're gonna have to get it, Kagome. We can't get past."

The girl turned and bobbed her head. "Ok." Raising her palm to the glyph, swirls of white and green energy mixed about Kagome like a blanket of mist. After a moment, a small panel of the rock in front of her slid up. Within was a diminutive cubby where a plain wooden box sat on the single shelf.

Kagome walked in, yet as soon as she did, the panel shut after her. She let out a shriek as she was left in total darkness. The wall was so thick; she could barely make out Inuyasha hollering on the other side. "Oh, gods…" she murmured to herself, not able to gather any light from this tiny space. Taking in a deep breath, Kagome calmed herself down. "This room has the deed in it…maybe if I get the deed it'll let me out.

"If I follow that energy, it'll take me to where that box was—that's where all of the energy was originating from anyway."

Using her spiritual powers as her eyes, Kagome took a few baby-steps frontward with her hands stretched before her. Her waist bumped into something solid, and she lowered her hands to feel the lid of a wooden box. "All right!" she cheered to herself, laughing halfheartedly. "Now to get out of this creepy place."

Feeling around the lid, Kagome carefully slipped it off and heard it gently clink against the stone. She snatched at a tightly bound scroll and clutched it firmly to her chest.

Then something white blazed out of the box, illuminating the entire alcove. It lingered close before her cobalt eyes, making her squint them and look away from the brilliance.

_Kagome… _the light said, speaking directly into her mind.

_Y-yeah?_

_Kagome…don't be frightened, dear…_ the voice soothed in a decidedly female tone. _I have something for you. _

Something purplish dazzled from the middle of the spirit, and floated over to Kagome with ethereal hands on a necklace that was placed around her neck. A round orb of glowing fuchsia rested against her collarbone, shimmering with its own internal luminosity.

Kagome placed her free hand to the bauble. _This was that energy…this is where it was coming from._

_Protect it well for only you will be able to keep this most treacherous, enigmatic jewel from being tainted by lustful darkness… You are the guardian of the Shikon no Tama…. Keep it out of reach of those in the shadows who would abuse it…. Keep your faith, Kagome, and…good luck…_

_ Huh?_ "W-wait!" she cried as the apparition of light flashed unbearably bright. And then, everything went plunging into darkness. Rivers of energy and power swam through her body, overloading her senses as some form of anticipated climax that she didn't realize she was waiting for was reached. _The Shikon no Tama…?_ was the last thing Kagome thought before her eyes closed and mind blanked out completely.

The panel re-opened and Kagome limply toppled back. Inuyasha rushed forward to catch her, the barrier gone. "Kagome?" He shook her gently, the scroll falling from her grasp going unnoticed. "Kagome!" His gaze went to the glowing jewel hanging around her neck. _What happened to you, Kagome…?_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hey, I think it was worth the wait, don't you? I'm still my toughest critic on this, but I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as I had getting all amp-ed up about it. I've opened a Yahoo! Group for people to join so you can discuss the stories, why I've done the things I've done in a story, about Inuyasha in general—just a really laid-back site. Here's the link, and if it doesn't show up, don't worry because I will post it towards the top of my profile.

http:groups. yahoo. com/ group/ moonlightshadow-fanstuff

Remember to take the spaces out when putting it in the URL bar. Well, I'm not sure when my next chapter will be out, but hopefully soon.

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. Mom not feeling good again, so beta-ed this myself….please be gentle.


	26. As It is Written

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm very pleased with the turnout. 1000 reviews! I almost fainted—rather than fainting, I leapt up and down like a ninny with my mom. You guys are awesome, and this part is taking some thinking, so the chapters might take a little longer to write. Not sure. I have a headache, but I am happy.

_Chapter Twenty-Six: __As It Is Written_

"Please be rational, Inuyasha," said Sesshoumaru, rubbing at his temple apathetically.

"I don't give a damn about being rational! All I care about right now is Kagome." Inuyasha touched said girl's brow with the palm of his hand. It was still her normal body temperature, and to the unwitting, Kagome appeared to be asleep. The thing was she hadn't awoken since falling out of the deed chamber; no matter how much he had shaken her or yelled at her, she stayed in her reverie with that glowing jewel upon her chest.

"Inuyasha…we must leave this chamber and return to the world outside." Sesshoumaru stooped down to retrieve the fallen deed scroll. "From there we can find out what the deed entails."

Inuyasha didn't say anything as he carefully began to heft Kagome, bridal-style, into his arms, until he heard a shrewd chortle. "Wha?" Turning his head, he saw a group of demons; their skin looked shriveled and was hanging loosely from where muscle once resided. They themselves gave off a strange, ghostly glow. "Who the hell are you?"

One of the undead demons chuckled louder, stepping forward. _"You didn't honestly think that it would be so easy to leave after retrieving the deed?"_

"Actually, I was kind of hoping it was," he responded dryly, still in a crouch with Kagome cradled a bit off the ground. He lifted his fiancée all the way up as he rose to his feet. "What exactly do you want?"

_"Your final test of worth.__ You must defeat us, all one hundred, and we have no reservations attacking the girl."_ The undead demon withdrew a chain sickle from behind his back. __

With a raucous, echoing battle cry, the one hundred demons charged at Inuyasha. "Damn it!" Leaping up onto one of the Grim statue's head, he loitered there as some of the undead soldiers wafted up to him. "Sesshoumaru, take Kagome!"

Sesshoumaru zoomed into the air and snatched the human girl from his brother's arms. "I will keep her out of the way," he assured coolly as he moved his charge out of the attack range of a few archers whose arrows instead shattered against the second Grim's forehead. Bounding from the sculpture's backside, the full-dog-demon lord kept Kagome securely in his grasp and out of any of the attacking fools' sieges. __

Inuyasha let his gaze linger on the pair before a pain sharply glanced his side. Darting away as the blade of one of the undead soldiers attempted to press further into his flesh, Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, which he had sheathed once Kagome had disappeared behind the stone panel, and swung the transformed blade at the ghastly creature. As his strike descended, he sensed another presence behind him, so he whirled and kicked at the other assailant.

It chortled as his foot passed through the mist of spirit.

"What the fuck?" Inuyasha spun to his right as a barrage of arrows headed towards him while a few more undead struck at him. He parried and dodged at a rate unheard of for even a full-blooded demon, but the hanyou continued to withstand damage.

"Their weapons are real enough," he growled, knocking back one that carried a halberd only to have to duck as another threw a chain mace at him, "but their bodies aren't." He landed on the floor, recoiled off it and lighted upon the pedestal of one of the Grim.

_Find the place…Inuyasha…_

"What?" He blocked another set of blows with Tetsusaiga until he could move out of the corner he'd been forced into. _Is there someone speaking to me through my mind?_

_The seam, Inuyasha…_ he heard the voice say. _Their energy and yours…sever the seam… Reveal the scar…_

Inuyasha peered across the way where his brother and Kagome were staying out of reach; Sesshoumaru was using his whip of light at times to keep the spirits' strikes at bay. "The scar…? Whoa!" The hanyou zipped out of the way as a chain sickle whizzed past him, his pensiveness broken.

_Smell it…for it is a wound of the wind…_

_I don't smell anything…_ he thought, somersaulting in midair. "And I don't see anything either…"

_Focus yourself, Inuyasha!_ commanded the voice. _Your blood is above that of any other class. Master the blade!_

Inuyasha made a wide arced swing at a group of approaching weapons, effectively making them retreat by his sheer force. "I can smell something but not much…" He heard a crack and his gaze darted to where the sound was coming from.

The ledge Sesshoumaru had been standing on had been struck and it was quickly crumbling to black ash, and Kagome had knocked from his grasp when an undead demon struck at him, forcing him to draw Tenseiga.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha bounded across the massive chamber, evading a few of the attacks, but for the most part, getting assaulted with every turn. Just a few seconds more and he'd catch her. Inuyasha stretched out his free arm to seize her around the waist as she dropped closer to him, when some of the fine dust was blown straight into his eyes. "Agh!" He shouted in pain as the minute grains scratched at his lenses and his tear ducts began to overflow.

A sharp realization hit him: Kagome was still falling. He's stopped moving into intersection range, and she was still plummeting.

He heard a quiet thump, and Inuyasha forced his eyes open, fear pumping through his veins. _No…_ Mocking shadows and outlines swirled before his impaired vision. His heart began to race—he couldn't tell if Kagome was all right or not.

"I have her, Inuyasha…" came Sesshoumaru's voice from one of the blobs. One of the silhouettes darted away—presumably Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha heaved a brief sigh of relief before he felt a stabbing pain go straight through his stomach. He screeched in agony, only to find a blade was protruding from his abdomen. With a twist, the length of metal was withdrawn. Dropping to his knees, the hanyou caught his breath. The group of undead demons was chuckling behind him.

_"Should we go after that girl with the jewel?" _one eagerly asked in his echoing voice. _"I wanna see her bleed…"_

A few more joined in with concurrence, and Inuyasha felt his blood begin to boil. "No one's gonna hurt her..." he growled deeply. Staggering, at first, to his feet, Inuyasha whirled around. _What…?_ Swirls of energy played before his near-blinded eyes in hues of blue and red. _It's their energy and mine… I can see it, and I can smell it--the youkis and the place where the two collide._ Raising Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha charged forward at the seam. _If I can slice along that 'wound' in the wind…I can release Tetsusaiga's true power…_

_ That's right…_

Bringing the looming fang upon the chaff, Inuyasha shouted, "KAZE NO KIZU!" Claw-like arcs of energy rented through the ground, devouring the youkis of all the undead demons in its path. "Sesshoumaru, you and Kagome stay out of the way!"

Sesshoumaru leapt nimbly from his current location to the furthest corner of the blast, and held Tenseiga before him and the girl.

Inuyasha watched as the various shadows dissolved into glowing powder that wafted upon the currents the Kaze no Kizu left in its wake. Above it all, he could see an ethereal being that he recognized right away.

_Good job, my son… You have passed this trial…_

It began to fade away. _Thanks, Dad._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha had shifted Kagome onto his back and carried her all the way out of the Black Pearl; thankfully, the rest of the trip back to the surface had no hindrances, except for the fact that his brother had to lead the semi-blind hanyou to the exit

Sesshoumaru's driver had been waiting and as soon as the girl was sat in the luxury vehicle, the dog brothers had clambered in also and they had all sped back to the mansion.

The mansion staff had leapt to attention at every whim of their master and did everything he instructed them to do to make Kagome as comfortable as possible, quiescent or not

Kagome was lying in an extra bed in another one of Sesshoumaru's numerous guestrooms, having been lovingly tucked in by Miss Kumiko; the cat demon nurse had checked the girl over and said, with a sad little shake of her head, that she could find nothing wrong. She had then looked over Inuyasha, after he had washed his eyes out in the room's bathroom, and put some soothing drops onto his irritated lens. Miss Kumiko had also attended to Inuyasha's wounds, taking special care with his abdominal wound.

Cheerful flowers had replaced the others in the vases around the room by Kagura, who, with her husband, had a small greenhouse within the mansion.

Kagura firmly commanded Jaken that, regardless that Sesshoumaru was with his brother and his fiancée, was not to enter the bedroom or he would pay some consequence; Jaken had swallowed quite noticeably—Kagura had a tendency to punish him on impulse and her sentences were never easy. Then again, neither were Sesshoumaru's reprimands. A pair of sadists—a couple made in Nirvana's opposite as far as the toad demon servant was concerned.

Inuyasha sat on the chair beside Kagome, his gold eyes constantly flickering over to her serene face and then glaringly to Sesshoumaru's detached visage—he had been standing there for quite a while now, not saying a word, and it was beginning to irritate the hanyou. "I don't give a fuck about the deed at the moment, in case you haven't noticed."

"I understand that, Inuyasha," he replied a tad testily, yet keeping his cool, "but I have both Sango and Miroku thoroughly checking the library again for the prophesy, and another pair of eyes would be most helpful…." With that, Sesshoumaru paced noiselessly from the room, a stream of silver hair sweeping after.

Frowning in his brother's wake for being such a stoic, selfish prick, Inuyasha looked to Kagome again—the deed would wait. He placed his hand to her forehead, and was rewarded once more by the unwavering body temperature, as it had the other times he had checked.

Emitting a slight sigh, he moved his hand away and instead took hold of hers. He made gentle circles with his thumb on the back of Kagome's hand.

"What exactly happened in there…?" Inuyasha quietly asked to himself. His gaze moved from her to the window where afternoon sunlight filtered through the gossamer curtains. "You've been like this for hours now. There was some kind of weird presence that behind that wall that even I sensed. It was strange…it was like…I knew it…." Squeezing her hand, Inuyasha murmured, "Wake up, Kagome…."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Kagome glanced around. She was in the Grim Dogs' chamber within the Black __Pearl__. Padding quietly out from the space between the two statues, she tried to find her two companions. "Inuyasha? Sesshoumaru?" She stopped in the middle of the room, feeling a sense of anxiety rising in her heart. "Inuyasha! Where are you?"_

_She heard a dark chuckle from behind her, so she whirled around to face whatever made the sound only to see long strands of silver shining as they snapped in a breeze, like a moving wall of water. Kagome looked behind her and saw more of the hoary strands; she was surrounded. "Wh-what's going on…? Inuyasha?!" _

_More dark laughing followed._

_"Inuyasha, where are you?" she cried urgently, looking this way and that, searching for an exit._

_The laughing grew louder, more menacing._

_"Inuyasha!"_

_Kagome closed her eyes tightly as she felt something—energy--careen into her chest and she was thrown backwards. All the air was knocked out of her and all she could do was prepare to hit the ground. _

_Only…she didn't hit the ground. She was caught by someone. "I'll be right here, Kagome…" she heard Inuyasha's voice rumble from above her. Parting her eyelids, Kagome pivoted her head to see her hanyou, but she found herself now sitting on the ground with something in her hand._

_Opening her palm, there rested that pink jewel—the Shikon no Tama. "Why do I have this?" The jewel simply twinkled and shined with its strange illumination._

You are the only one…Kagome…

_"Huh?" Kagome's blue eyes darted around the room as she scooted rearwards until she met the wall. "That voice from before…" Getting to her feet, she inquired, "Who are you?"_

_A bauble of light hovered at about her chest level until it elongated into a human form. "I am someone who is to help you…" the woman said, her body translucent. "The Shikon no Tama is to be kept out of evil's hands. One fragment of power ripped from his grasp will fell him completely. That one piece can lead to either triumph or defeat."_

_The girl stared at the woman. Her face was smiling at her, and the aspects seemed very familiar to Kagome… "One fragment… Um…excuse me, but…do you know how to get to the prophesy? I know it's in the library in a book somewhere but…"_

_She smiled again. "All heroes and heroines of old always have their stories recorded in tales that are passed down for centuries to come until they are but fables."_

_"Huh…?" Kagome tipped her head. "I don't understand." _

_"Work together with Inuyasha…he needs you just as much as you need him. Show him love, Kagome…for my sake." The woman touched Kagome's face with a ghostly hand, before slowly disappearing._

_"W-wait…" she called when the spirit turned away. "Setsuna!"_

_"You will be fine… My son is dependable…and loyal…please just bear with him… He will know."_

_Kagome stared after her as she dissolved into mist. "I'm supposed to protect this jewel with Inuyasha…" She frowned slightly. "Is this what Naraku really wanted? Probably."_

"Wake up, Kagome…"

_"Inuyasha…?" She felt her eyes closing again, her senses being blanketed by the gruff voice of the dog-hanyou. _

"Wake up…Kagome…"

With a slight moan, Kagome opened her heavy eyelids, barely seeing through her lashes. "I-…Inuyasha?" she said softly.

Inuyasha gave her a wry half-smile, relief washing within his honey orbs. "Yeah." His face drew into a serious frown as she started to sit up. He rose from the chair and gently pushed her on the shoulders onto the bed again. "You should stay down. You fell out of that chamber unconscious."

She nodded a little, before determinedly propping herself up with her hands. "I know." Kagome peered at her fiancé.

There were streaks of dried blood on his white T-shirt, and long, jagged rips crossed over the sleeves and his chest; the jean jacket he had been wearing was no where to be found. She gasped in suppressed horror when her eyes wandered to the noticeable blood spot on his stomach. Through the good-sized hole, Kagome could see the crisscrosses of gauze bandages adorning his abdomen with speckles of dark crimson leaking through.

Inuyasha saw where she was looking to and he sat down hastily, swallowing a whimper of pain that had subsequently crept up his throat. He quickly placed a hand over the gap, saying quickly, "It's nothing."

"Nothing? Inuyasha, you're really hurt. Are you okay? What happened?" She began shooting off questions faster than he could answer.

He waited for a bit until Kagome had to pause to catch her breath before speaking. "Calm down, Kagome. It turned out I had one more test before we could leave with the deed. There were a hundred undead demons…" He shook his head. "Gods, remind me never to go near another fucking demon grave as long as I live."

"But…are you feeling all right?" Kagome inquired softly, tentatively moving one of her support hands and placing it on Inuyasha's arm—the one concealing his awful injury.

Inuyasha peered into her worried, cobalt eyes and moved his own rough palm and laid it upon her hand, which rested on his bicep. "I'm fine," he assured her, keeping an intense gaze with her. "My father's spirit was there with me… He told me to use the Kaze no Kizu to defeat them all…in one stroke."

"You mean," she began slowly, "all the demons?"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "I guess my old man wanted to make sure I was doing okay."

Kagome looked to him for a moment. "Inuyasha, I think I saw your mother's spirit."

"What? A-are you sure?'

She nodded. "Positive. She was the one telling me to protect the Shikon no Tama." She touched the pink jewel with her other hand. "Your mother…she said I am the guardian."

"The guardian of the Shikon no Tama?" Inuyasha stared intently at the jewel, seeing the fierce magenta radiance. He leaned back into the chair, shifting enough that Kagome's fingertips brushed against the back of his wrist. "I wonder what this jewel is capable of… You said it gave off strong energy, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how someone could use the jewel's power." Kagome let her slack grip on the Shikon Jewel slide away. "Anyway, where's everyone at?"

"Down in the library. Sesshoumaru's probably checking out the deed."

"You haven't read it yet?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Nope. I've been keeping an eye on you."

Kagome smiled softly. "Thanks. Is everyone searching for the prophesy?" she inquired.

"Yeah. I don't think they've found it yet." Releasing a sigh, he said with a dry smile, "Guess my mother hid it better than anyone thought."

"I wanna go see how the others are getting along." Kagome started climbing out of the bed. "Maybe we can help."

"Are you feeling well enough to?" asked Inuyasha, looking at her with a concerned expression.

She nodded with a grin. "Yup. I'm feeling loads better now. Come on," the girl's feet touched the soft rug, "let's go."

Getting up from his chair, the hanyou sauntered after her and lead her down the hall to the library where the rest of the alliance was.

Upon entering, the pair could see Sango crouched down and reading off book titles to herself. Not far off was Miroku, who was leafing through a rather thick tome with his brow scrunched up in thoughtfulness.

The curtains had been drawn back, and sunlight stretched lazily along the polished hardwood flooring. Unlike the first time Kagome and Inuyasha had set foot in the library, they were able to see the whole expanse of books along the walls. Bookcases stood at attention with some of their contents littering the floor. The room would have been quiet if not for the childish giggles coming from another part of the book hall.

The owners of said snickers came bouncing around the corner of another bookshelf as Inuyasha and Kagome started to approach Miroku and Sango. Two little girls smiled together and then stopped and stared rather curiously at the betrothed couple.

The smaller one had long, glossy black hair held back in a loose braid. Her pale gold eyes peered at Inuyasha in a calculating way. Between her fluffy tail, crescent moon on her forehead, and her scent, Inuyasha was sure this was Yuki—Sesshoumaru's daughter.

The taller girl Inuyasha recognized immediately as the little street urchin Rin he'd saved back in December. Rin had filled out in a healthy way, her brown hair was shiny and well-cared for, and her clothes were high-quality. The thing that made the hanyou most relieved was the sparkle in her once-lackluster eyes and the huge grin on her face, which widened as she ran up and hugged him around the middle.

"Uh…hey…" he greeted, patting her on the head.

Rin pulled away to look happily up at him. "Rin wants to thank you for saving her life. Sesshoumaru will let Rin stay here."

Yuki tentatively came over and said softly, "Papa said he's going to adopt Rin into the family."

Kagome smiled at the little demon-girl. "That's great."

"Well," Miroku said, coming up by the foursome, "it looks like Inuyasha has a soft spot for kids."

Sango nodded, walking over to them as well. "So it seems."

Inuyasha looked away from them. "Whatever."

"Inuyasha, I thought I heard you come in." Sesshoumaru came gracefully into view, pacing evenly to them. His eyes widened slightly. "So Kagome has awoken."

The girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling much better. I figured we could help."

He smiled faintly. "I see you are more dependable than my brother."

Kagome sniggered as Inuyasha snapped back with a, "Hey!"

Sesshoumaru panned his gaze down to the two children. "Yuki, Rin—your uncle and I have some business to attend to." He paused as the girls gaped at Inuyasha in wonder; he was their uncle? "Why don't you go upstairs and play with Jaken for while?"

"Sesshoumaru," Rin spoke gently, pulling away from Uncle Inuyasha, "Rin and Yuki want to help to find the book that everyone else is trying to find."

Yuki nodded vigorously. "Please, Papa? We will stay out of trouble."

He narrowed his gaze before saying quietly, "I would prefer it if the two of you were playing somewhere, but your offer to help is very nice."

Inuyasha managed to hold back his laugh. Watching his brother being so paternal just tickled the hell out of him.

"Oh, Sesshoumaru," Kagome started, "I have a riddle for you." She waited as he looked to her with interest. "All heroes and heroines of old always have their stories recorded in tales that are passed down for centuries to come until they are but fables. What kind of book?"

Everyone mused over it, Yuki and Rin included.

"Perhaps it is a book of lore," suggested Miroku.

"Maybe," agreed Kagome. "I got the hint in a dream from Setsuna."

Inuyasha peered at his fiancée. "So that was what she told you?"

"Well, that's what she said when I asked her about finding the prophesy. She was in the deed chamber, too." Kagome watched as the half-demon went pensively quiet.

"Rin thinks it's a fairytale book," suddenly declared aforementioned girl.

Yuki grinned. "A fairytale book's stories usual come from real stories that got passed down so much that they become myth."

"Yes, that would fit," Sango said with a thoughtful bob of her head. "Do you have any books of fairytales in here?"  
"Most probably," Sesshoumaru replied.

"…It'll be a white book with gold writing and the red ribbon is most likely marking the page," Inuyasha murmured. Before anyone could ask how he had deduced that, he continued on by lightly saying, "My mother used to read me fairytales from it when I was a kid."

Kagome touched a hand to his arm for a moment. _He really misses his mom doesn't he? _She peered at him until he looked back at her, signaling for them to continue on. She clapped her hands together once and said briskly, "Then that's probably where your mother hid the prophesy! We should all get looking for it."

Sango and Miroku nodded. The human trio disappeared among the sea of books, while Sesshoumaru ushered Yuki and Rin out.

Inuyasha waited until Sesshoumaru returned. In turn, his brother gazed inquisitively at him. "Something is troubling you."

Sighing once, the hanyou crossed his arms over his chest. "Sesshoumaru, what exactly was that mirror back in the Black Pearl? I saw a spirit or something over the glass…and I saw light of that Shikon no Tama shining within it."

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow. "So that was what that jewel was. Little brother, that looking glass was the Mirror of Shadow. It was a present to our father from one of his comrades. The Mirror of Shadow reflects only the truths: that our father is dead, and that Kagome will guard the Shikon Jewel."

"It's semi-prophetic because Kagome didn't have the jewel yet."

Nodding, Sesshoumaru said in an undertone, "I have read the deed thoroughly, and the Shikon no Tama is indeed mentioned."

"What's it say?"

The older dog-brother began walking along the wall until he came to a door. Going through it lead them to a study. Unrolled on the desk in the center of the small room was the deed scroll. "Go ahead and read it."

Glancing at Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha walked over to the scroll and began reading. "The Western Lands are jointly owned by us…the two houses…

"'The Shikon no Tama will belong to the younger brother's fiancée, which will be accompanying this deed within the chamber in which it was found. It is left in protection of her guardianship, and her betrothed's guardianship of her. Utilizing the jewel can radically increase the powers of the user a thousand-fold. The Shikon no Tama has been sought after repeatedly for evil purposes and should be protected at all costs—the effects of it landing in the hands of evil are devastating.'

"That's not exactly cheerful, is it?" Inuyasha turned back to his brother.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "The rest is legal, which I will deal with accordingly. Let us go back and help search."

Taking one last glimpse at the deed, Inuyasha followed out after his brother.

For the next hour, the entire group combed the shelves thoroughly for storybook. There had been a few mistaken identities among the tomes, but finally, as everyone was growing hungry and thirsty, Miroku called, "I believe I found it."

Sango was the first one at his side as he pulled it from the shelf. "Are you certain?"

He dusted it off with a hand as he rose to his feet. "Positive." He wriggled a finger to the place that the long, red silk ribbon marked. Flipping open the book to that page, he read, "'Dealing with the matter of the Shikon no Tama…'" Miroku gave a decisive look to Sango. "Does that convince you?"

Kagome and Inuyasha came trotting over with Sesshoumaru in tow. "What's it say?" urgently inquired the hanyou.

Miroku cleared his throat before beginning again. "'Dealing with the matter of the Shikon no Tama, its guardian will have come from a shrine family and she will be a powerful miko. The protector of the jewel's guardian will be her appointed fiancée, Tanaka Inuyasha of this family line. While the future is never clear, the prophesy is lucid.' That ends the preamble and the actual prophesy is right below."

"Get on with it already," snipped Inuyasha.

"Have some patience," sighed the monk in annoyance before continuing on once more. "'All grievances must be set aside, and the two must work as one. One shard of hope will shine amongst the tainted, and where there is hope, there is light. The guardian sword will continue to grow strong, as emotions also do. A wish made pure can be all that is needed to preserve a world of good, buried deep in the heart. For all is needed is a selfless wish to make the jewel disappear—a dark wish, for one's own gain, will result in a balance disrupted, whether whole or not. Destruction and despair will make the journey difficult, as final battles will be…' The prophesy trails off there."

"Are you sure?" Sango peeked over Miroku's shoulder.

He turned the page and shook his head. "I'm afraid so." He slipped the red ribbon back in and shut the book.

The dull sound of the pages falling back together sounded ominous in the silent room.

Inuyasha was the first to regain his voice. "What does it mean?"

"It means," Sesshoumaru began, "that this is what Naraku had wanted to extend his power. It was this Shikon no Tama that he had been seeking after. I doubt the deed was of as much interest as the jewel. While we must remain cautious, you may return to your hanyou form permanently…the scale is tipped in our favor."

"But what it also means," softly said Miroku, "is that we have far greater trouble creeping upon the horizon."

No one noticed the faint buzzing outside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sorry it took so long. There were a lot of things to tie up into a single thread so…I hope you guys liked this thus far. Next chapter should be pretty cool. It might be a filler and it might not be. I'm not sure yet. (Fillers usually mean, in my head, stuff that isn't pertinent to the plot, but something I would've wondered about if I was reading it.)

Moonlight Shadow


	27. Out in Right Field

_Disclaimer: _I have books, plushies, and a couple of DVDs…but I don't exactly own Inuyasha himself…

A/N: Well, here I go. I'm just going where my fingers are taking me. Inu and Sess were distracted by what was going on in the room and didn't hear the buzzing. Please use the forum (the Yahoo! Group I started) to debate these things. Anyway, there's not much to report except I'm getting hungry…food…

Dedicated to Notoes (for something that should sound vaguely familiar) and to my mother (because I love her so much).

_Chapter Twenty-Seven: __Out in Right Field_

"So, Kagome was the 'destined' in the hint, while the Shikon no Tama was the 'it'?" Myouga echoed back to Inuyasha.

The half-demon nodded before stretching back on his futon. "Apparently. Mother must have put a double meaning in her words."

"Ah," said the flea demon, hopping onto his master's chest, "your mother was quite clever, Lord Inuyasha. I would not doubt it if your mother did not mention Kagome by name—she was probably trying to protect her."

"I guess so." Inuyasha sighed. The wound on his stomach continued to ache and burn, but as long as he remained still, like Kagome insisted that he do, it wasn't so bad. His ripped tee-shirt had been replaced with a ribbed A-shirt when he returned home, leaving his bandaged torso a bit cooler.

He had returned with Kagome that evening, another courtesy of Sesshoumaru's driver, and had discussed his doings at the gravesite and of the deed and the prophesy with his minute retainer. Myouga always had a thirst for knowledge—and Inuyasha's blood--, and had listened intently from the mysterious prose of Inuyasha's mother's prophesy to the anonymity of the Shikon no Tama.

"Speaking of your fiancée, where is Lady Kagome?"

"I sent her up to bed," he replied, pillowing his head on his hands as he stared up at the rafters; she'd complained that it hadn't been very late and didn't need to be treated like a child. He had still made her go to her room. "She bruised her ankle when at Dad's grave, and she was unconscious for a while afterwards."

Myouga bobbed his head, crossing his two sets of arms. "As you mentioned previously… And Lord Sesshoumaru said that you no longer had to remain incognito?"

"Nope. Thank the gods, too." The hanyou closed his eyes leisurely. "No more bad dog jokes from Miroku and Sango."

"So," Myouga grinned wickedly, "that means that there are new options open to you in regards to Lady Kagome."

Inuyasha cracked open one eyelid. "And you mean what, exactly?"

"Well, now, Lord Inuyasha," the flea hopped up to his master's nose, "you surely have noticed how lovely your appointed fiancée is." Inuyasha grunted, lowering his lid again. "While it is obvious the two of you harbor deep feelings for one another—"

The half-dog demon sat up in a flash, eyes wide open as he caught his vassal between his forefinger and thumb. "Whoa, whoa, whoa—where exactly are you going with this, old flea?"

He made a few strangled noises. "I merely meant that perhaps you can take your relationship to the next level, solidify your claim to her—"

Inuyasha promptly squashed Myouga. "Maybe you and Miroku should get together. I'm sure you two would have _tons_ to talk about." Letting the flea swish to the side, he lowered himself to his mattress again. Inuyasha flopped an arm over his forehead.

_I'm free from hiding…Sesshoumaru has the deed, Kagome has the Shikon no Tama…but I know Naraku's not out yet…_ Kicking his new sheet up onto his torso, he used his other hand to shift the coverlet evenly over his body._ He was after the jewel more than the deed to the Western Lands, no doubt. Even if the Shikon no Tama is being guarded by Kagome, Naraku obviously knows how to go about gathering information—he had fake cops and those stupid bee things… It's his turn to make a move…_

Inuyasha's musings were disrupted by Myouga's throaty voice asking, "Lord Inuyasha--?"

"What, bug?" he grunted in return.

"How did you know where in that storybook to find the prophesy?" Myouga inquired eagerly, taking residence on the front of Inuyasha's shoulder. "Had you heard it before?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not Mother's prophesy, but it was the book she used to read fairytales from. She used to read to me before bedtime everyday, and she always marked the story for that night with the red ribbon in the book." Inuyasha peered intently at the most obscure part of the ceiling, saying softly, "Mother must have figured I would know where to look…that I would remember…."

After the initial discovery Setsuna's prediction, Miroku had taken Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru aside while Sango, Kagome, and the little girls had gone off to get something to eat from the kitchen.

_"I did not want to mention the last part in front of Kagome," the monk had said when the trio of men convened in the same study the deed was residing in. Flicking to the foretold future, Miroku gazed piercingly at Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. "This part bothered me a little, but I shall read the last bit._

_"'_ _Destruction and despair will make the journey difficult, as final battles will be…'" his voice loitered on the last line anyone had heard aloud of the prophesy. Miroku took in a deep breath and continued on in an even, slightly gloomy tone, "'…as final battles will be undetermined, for the future, and destiny, will change as it may. This fated pair will be stubborn and it is up to their own throne of emotion's truths what the final outcome may be…'"_

_"It is without a definite ending," calmly remarked Sesshoumaru._

_"Yes," agreed Miroku swiftly, holding up a hand, "but, listen—there's more."_

_"Like…?" drawled Inuyasha, his thin patience growing ever thinner._

_"'The one who can withstand the darkness with a heart as pure and innocent as a child is the guardian of the Shikon no Tama. Inutaisho's youngest son's betrothed will have come from a Shinto shrine—the place where the sun rests last. Within her grasp is the guardian sword, proof of her predestined alliance. Her powers will set her apart from any other human being, even if she is not conscious of their strength. With her family she will wait for him, and when it is time, they will go forth to the place in which the Shikon no Tama will be kept—the Black Pearl, for if it is tainted with evil, the jewel will indeed become such an opal.'_

_"Basically," Miroku shut the book once more, "while I highly doubt Naraku was able to even hear part of this prophecy, I know it would have bothered Kagome to know that your mother, Inuyasha, knew so much about her before her mother was even conceived."_

_"We already heard that the guardian was going to be a miko, and that I was supposed to guard it with her." The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest as he inquired, "But what I wanna know is how did Naraku discover where to find the Shikon Jewel?" _

_Sesshoumaru's lips twitched. "Father was powerful—"_

_"Yeah, know that."_

_"Shut your mouth for once, and maybe you'll learn something," sighed Miroku._

_"Whaddya mean shut my mouth for once? I kept my mouth shut the whole time you were speaking," Inuyasha snapped back._

_The monk simply leaned over and smacked the half-demon with fist. "Please, continue, Sesshoumaru."_

_Speaking again, as if the irksome interruption had never occurred, "—and due to his power, many things were entrusted to him—land, money, power, and the Shikon no Tama was among them, for one reason or another. How he came across it, I do not know. Since your mother was a white sorceress, I am assuming that one of the reasons it was brought to them was her barrier-spells as well—like the one that warded us off in the Black __Pearl__."_

_"You mean the one at the deed chamber?"_

_"Indeed. Apparently, she had been expecting Kagome to come with us."_

_Miroku nodded. "It would seem that way. It would also seem that Lady Setsuna contacted Kagome through her dreams; there are many facets even I do not know about her spiritual powers."_

_Running his talons through his silken hair, Sesshoumaru murmured, "Then, keeping a close watch on her couldn't hurt. Her dreams may be prophetic."_

_"She has seen things before they have happened before," admitted Miroku. "I have to concur."_

His bedroom had grown quiet. Inuyasha glimpsed down to Myouga sleeping on his shoulder. Plucking the flea demon off and setting him aside in the tin the lemon drops had come in—he had managed to single-handedly eat them all in one day—Inuyasha sat up.

"I can't sleep," he whispered to himself, watching disinterestedly as his sheet fell into his lap. The recent memory rather bothered him; Naraku could easily find Kagome again, and what if he had heard that Inuyasha was still alive and the Shikon no Tama had emerged? Right now, Kagome was asleep upstairs in her little bed…or as far as he knew.

Restless, Inuyasha rolled his sheet off completely and took the Tetsusaiga, which lay beside him, as it did every night. He tottered to his feet and out the sliding door, gripping his katana's scabbard lightly His keen gold eyes watched every shadow that played, able to see things fairly well considering the lack of light; then again, being half-demon had its advantages.

He jogged up the stairs quietly, feeling a sense of déjà vu from when he was human and he'd snuck to Kagome's room. He pushed open the door as quietly as he could and lingered in the doorway, his gaze falling, with some satisfaction, on the resting teenage girl to whom he was betrothed.

Her raven tresses were fanned beneath her waves, a hand was lying over the edge of her bed, and her face was illuminated by the slight glow from the city lights. Inuyasha smirked to himself; how long had it been since Kagome had actually slept in _her_ bed?

Creeping into the room, Inuyasha came beside her and cocked his head to the side as he watched her for a bit more. It wasn't that he was trying to be an up-close voyeur—he'd leave that job to Miroku--, it was that Inuyasha found some solace for his abused heart and soul when he saw that this one young woman's life was still there, intact with all its hopeful innocence that was allowed.

The way her soft lips were parted a tad, and how her long lashes brushed the apples of her cheeks, Inuyasha discovered himself thinking that she slept rather prettily, if that made sense at all. It was then that the half-demon became aware of how much he truly did care about Kagome. Through all the hell he'd forced her to endure, Kagome had never left him (or kicked him out), and she always believed in him.

Dropping to a seated position on the floor, Inuyasha settled himself near his fiancée's bedside. He tucked Tetsusaiga in the crook of his arm and allowed his head to loll forward.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later, Mama left her bedroom, having finished an excellent mystery novel and was intent on drinking one last cup of tea before bed. She passed by her daughter's open bedroom door without a glance, her groggy mind focused intently on the prospect of warm chamomile tea.

Buyo meowed at her as she padded downstairs, so once in the kitchen, she refilled the rotund feline's food dish before continuing with her drink; she only ducked out to lay a blanket over Souta, who was fast asleep on the floor in the den with his controller in hand while PlayStation game he was playing still illuminating the screen.

A cup of water zapped in the microwave and a bag steeping in it later, Mama headed back up to her room. Yet as she passed by her daughter's room, she poked her head in, as she always had since Kagome was a small child, and was delighted to see her eldest child fast asleep with a statue-still hanyou guardian—motionless if one were to discount the lightly flicking dog-ears atop his head.

It was those ears that were the cause of Mama's stifled giggles for her daughter's hand had dropped down and, while remaining in slumber, was gently rubbing at the furry triangles with a faint smile on her face. The dog-hanyou didn't seem to mind because a soft, friendly-growl emanated from his throat and one of his feet was twitching. This half-demon had worked his way into her heart, and Mama was sure, without a doubt, that he had made himself a home in Kagome's as well.

Using her free hand to cover her mouth as she laughed gently, Mama turned away from the adorable scene, shutting the door carefully behind her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Good morning, Higurashi," greeted her nasal-voiced homeroom teacher the next day as she passed him her admit slip from the office. He shifted his horn-rimmed glasses on his thin nose with an even lankier finger. His dark, beady eyes quickly scanned over the piece of yellow paper. "So, you were out for personal reasons yesterday?"

Kagome nodded once, holding her school case in both hands. "Yes, sir. I bruised my ankle very badly the other day—I tripped over my cat coming down the stairs."

He raised his gaze to her. "And now?"

"Oh, I'm just fine," she chirped with practiced ease. "A little rest, some medicine, and an ankle wrap and I'm good as new."

Bobbing his head, the teacher handed the admit back to her. "All right."

She took one hand from her bag's strap to take the slip and, with a bow, toddled back to her seat in the third row, right by the windows. Kagome peered out them for a moment or two, glad that Inuyasha hadn't thrown a fit this morning when she went to school.

Actually, he was already in her room when she awoke. The first thing she had seen was his puppy-dog ears.

He had looked so adorable with those furry, little ears twitching of their own accord. Kagome had gently stroked one of them, enchanted in a dazed way, at that time, at how nice they felt between her fingertips.

Inuyasha had roused, and Kagome had quickly darted her hand back into bed with her. She had smiled pleasantly and wished him good morning; he'd responded with a tongue-curling yawn. For some reason, that doglike action absolutely charmed her. He'd stared at her like she was insane before getting up with a grunt, and muttering something about making sure she was safe during the night.

Even now, Kagome had to smile. It warmed her heart to know he had stayed the entire night in her room, right by her side like…well, like a guard dog. Regardless, Kagome found herself wishing to hurry through school to see him—which was odd, considering she was a humongous bookworm.

_Inuyasha maybe a real pain sometimes, but he really isn't a bad person, _she thought, watching blissfully as a bird swooped down and lighted on the windowsill. It reminded her that riding on Inuyasha's back high into the sky was something she wanted to do again. Up until the point he got hit by the car, New Years Eve had been so much fun, and Kagome had to remember the devilish smirk on his face, one of absolute delight. _He's a good guy at heart—he's just had a lot of unfortunate situations in his life. It's not a wonder that he's so gruff and gets freaked-out when it comes to showing any emotion that isn't angry, devious, sarcastic, sadistic, or hungry…_

Kagome blinked once as the bird darted away. _I wonder if hungry really is an emotion or just a state-of-being… Maybe Inuyasha's just an exception to the rule…_

"Kagome!"

"Hmm?" She pivoted her head from facing the window to her three friends, who came rushing into the room. "Hey, guys."

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi bee-lined for her desk and all crowded around it.

"Kagome," Yuka began bossily, as she usually was, "you _have_ to go to the game Saturday afternoon."

She tipped her head. "Game? What game?"

Eri rapped on forehead, earning a noise of protest. "Do you always have your nose in your books? The boys' baseball game, silly. Aren't you coming?"

"Hmm…I dunno." Kagome put a finger to her lips. _I'm not sure if I should just leave Inuyasha, I mean he…wait!_ The mental light bulb in her head clicked on. _I could take Inuyasha with me. He doesn't have to be in disguise any more—this could be the perfect way to spend some one-on-one time with him that doesn't involve surviving catacomb sentinels or stoic half-brothers._

"Please, Kagome," begged Ayumi, grasping hold of her friend's arm gently. "We really want you to come."

"Well…I think I should be able to go," she said slowly, a grin spreading over her face. "It should be ok."

"That's great!" the other girl cheered, hugging Kagome around the neck.

Eri and Yuka looked at each other, as if sharing some of form of telepathy—or maybe that just came with slightly overbearing personalities.

Yuka started, "Kagome, why wouldn't you be able to? This is the third game so far. You normally like baseball."

"Yeah," concurred Eri, "you sounded hesitant about going." She got eye-to-eye with her pal.

"I still like baseball…" Kagome stated quietly, leaning away a bit. "I just have to check with my mom…" _And Inuyasha_, she mentally added. "What's with the accusatory tone?"

"Is it because Houjou's on the team?" Eri jabbed a finger into Kagome's shoulder.

"Ow…" She rubbed the spot, glaring at the other girl. "That's why _you_ go, Eri. I go to see baseball, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Houjou."

Giving her an untrusting look, Eri straightened up gradually. "Yes, well…"

"Speaking of Houjou," Yuka snapped her fingers, "he was looking for you this morning, Kagome."

She blinked. "He was? Why?"

"I think he wanted to personally invite you to the game." Resting her gaze on Kagome in a semi-commanding, semi-excited sort of way, she quickly asked, "So are you gonna go talk to him? You really should say yes to him, if that's what he wants."

Kagome glanced up at the analog clock; there was only five minutes before class started. "It'll have to wait until lunchtime when we have break period." Glimpsing from her friends to some of their classmates who had filtered into the room, she sighed.

"Everyone, please try to find a good seat," the teacher said, his chalk squawking a tad as he scribbled messily on the board. "Today we have a special treat—looking at asexual reproduction." He laughed in a wheezing, shrill laugh.

Shaking her head with a guise of distaste, Yuka said in a tone that matched her visage, "Sometimes I wonder if that's the way his kind was created."

"Or maybe," Eri dryly suggested, "it's the only time he gets to hear anything like that. It's probably the closest thing to sex he's ever gonna get to."

Kagome rubbed at her temple with her finger as the pair continued to debate. "They aren't seriously having this conversation, are they?" she asked Ayumi.

Smiling demurely, Ayumi patted Kagome on the back. "They are."

Cushioning her forehead on the palm of her hand, Kagome shook her head with disbelief.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biology passed by easily enough. Kagome tuned out part of it and opted to read from her textbook or unnoticeably gaze out the window from the corner of her eye. She excelled at English, and was able to dodge Kouga's smarmy winks when he entered the room for that single period. After that class was Trigonometry, which Kagome admittedly dreaded, but since she worked her butt off, she was passing with a high grade.

Finally, lunchtime came, and Eri and Yuka launched themselves over to Kagome, who apparently wasn't moving fast enough for their tastes. They seized her by the arms and hauled her out—Ayumi simply trotted after.

"We're going to find Houjou," declared Yuka determinedly.

"Guys," moaned Kagome, managing to wrench her arms away from their death-hold grasps, "calm down, would you?"

"Hey, Higurashi," sounded Houjou's voice.

Kagome looked up the hall as Houjou jogged towards them and Eri sighed, "He's so cute.... It just shouldn't be legal!"

The ruddy haired boy smiled when he reached the four girls. "I was wondering if you were going to our baseball game this Saturday."

She nodded. "I probably will."

He beamed. "Really? Great, then I was wondering if you wanted to—"

"Whatever it is, yes," interrupted Eri. "I-I mean, Kagome would love to with you—"

"I can answer for myself, thanks," Kagome broke-in tartly, sending an irritated glare at Eri. Turning a much gentler one on Houjou, she said, "Houjou, what were you going to say?"

The boy smiled amusedly. "Well, I wanted to know if you were free to go grab a bite to eat at Wacdonald's after the game."

Eri and Yuka danced anxiously at Kagome's side, as if they were the ones being asked. "Say yes," hissed Yuka.

"Houjou," began Kagome, folding her hands together, "I'm really sorry, but…"

"Kagome," Yuka hissed again in her ear, "what are you doing?"

Ignoring the other female, she took a deep breath before saying, "I'm…seeing someone."

Houjou stared at her, dumfounded.

"You are?" he asked at the same time as the other three squeaked the same question.

She nodded. "I am. We…we haven't been together very long… So…I think that's very sweet of you, Houjou, but I'm gonna have to decline." Kagome felt awful at the heartbroken look on his face.

"Oh…"

"But, hey," she said brightly, "I bet Eri would love to go with you."

Eri blinked rapidly, absolutely stupefied. "I-I would? I mean," she glanced nervously at Houjou, "I would."

"So, how does that sound?" Kagome smiled reassuringly. "I'm still coming to the game, so I'll cheer you on, ok, Houjou?"

Houjou stared down his nose for a moment, brown eyes cloudy, before he lifted them to Kagome's, the same cheerful sparkle in them. "That sounds great, Higurashi! I'll hold it to you." He looked to Eri and grinned. "We can meet at the pitcher's mound afterwards—if that's ok with you, Takashi."

Eri seemed about ready to either die or go into convulsions. "O-o-o-of c-co-course."

"Well, I better get back to class." Houjou turned and waved. "See you Saturday!"

The group watched as he went off to his break.

Eri stood there slack-jawed, barely managing out, "S-see you…"

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Eri this quiet before," remarked Ayumi.

Smirking faintly, Kagome added, "It's kind of a miracle, huh?"

Yuka rolled her eyes. "You're tellin' me…"

Remaining oblivious to their comments, Eri breathlessly said, "He knew my name…"

Kagome shook her head with a sigh. _I hope getting Inuyasha to come with me will go pretty well… He's been wanting to get out of the house for ages, so a baseball game should be right up his alley…_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How did I let you convince me to go to this 'baseball' game?" grumbled Inuyasha as his fiancée bustled about her bedroom, looking for her sunscreen that Saturday afternoon—the warm weather was coming in swiftly, and while most would think she was insane to worry about sunburn in the middle of February, Kagome wasn't ready to take the chance; a person could get skin cancer at any age and time of the year.

Finding her sunscreen in her desk drawer, popped open the lid and squirted some on the back of her hand. "Because I asked you nicely, and I'm cheering a friend of mine on at the game," she replied patiently. "Besides, weren't _you _the one bellyaching about wanting to go somewhere?"

"I wasn't bellyaching," he protested. "And I never said a thing about this baseball stuff."

Shaking her head, the girl finished applying SPF 45 to her arms and started on her face, neck, and ears. "Inuyasha, haven't you even _heard _of baseball?"

"Well, yeah. Kikyou left this magazine in my room one time that mentioned baseball." Inuyasha plopped his rump down on Kagome's bed. "I know three strikes you're out, things called 'foul balls', and players swing things called bats at balls." He crossed his arms. "I only know some of the terminology, but I've never seen it played."

"Then let's just go and enjoy the game." Kagome squeezed some more sunscreen in her palm and marched over to her fiancé. "I'm sure you'll like it. Well, once you get used to it, anyway." Dipping her fingers in the lotion, she began smear it to Inuyasha's face.

"What the heck are you doing?" He jolted back, taking a hand and wiping the sunscreen from his cheeks. Taking a bit on his claw, he sniffed it. "What's this junk for?"

"It's sun block. It'll keep you from getting sunburned," Kagome explained. "Why don't you just put some on?"

"Keh." Inuyasha finished wiping the cream from his face. "Do I need to remind you that I'm a hanyou? There's no way I'm gonna burn, I'll only tan. Don't be such a stupid dolt."

The girl stamped her foot. "I am not being a stupid dolt, Inuyasha. Half-demon or not, couldn't you just humor me and—" she cut herself off as she threw her hands up in the air, sending a small globule of sunscreen skywards. "Never mind…just never mind… If you get burned, it's your own fault."

"Which I won't." The yellow sun cream plunked upon the hanyou's head. Commenting dryly as he swabbed it from his silver hair, "Oh that was ironic."

Kagome wiped the excess sunscreen into the bottle and rubbed what residue was left into her skin. "Come on, Inuyasha." She reached over and plucked the remnants of lotion from his hair. She wiped the sunscreen on her jean skirt. "Let's go to the game."

Nodding wryly, Inuyasha mumbled, "Yeah, yeah." Combing his claws through his hair one last time, he followed his fiancée downstairs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk to the school had been pretty uneventful. Out front of the entrance the baseball field was a few parents, teachers, and members of the booster club selling tickets to the numerous people trolling in. Kagome purchased two and then lead her slightly awed fiancé through the chain link gate to the field; she would have liked to have taken Inuyasha to a regular game rather than some middle school one, but she figured it was probably best to start off small.

Giggling, Kagome trotted over to the bleachers and parked her rump at a spot across from home plate and right near the top. She grinned at Inuyasha as he tentatively took a seat next to her while the players on the field warmed up. "We're the ones in white with the black stripes," she said, pointing at one clusters of teenage boys. "We're the Tigers."

He nodded. "So, who are you playing against?"

"The Dragons."

"Oh…" he drawled before a plucky, female voice shouted, "Kagome! Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha's eyes darted to the direction from whence the call had come. Jogging towards them was a girl with shoulder length hair.

Kagome beamed. "Hey, Eri. Why don't you sit with us?"

"Sure," the girl agreed, plopping beside Kagome. "Can you believe I get to hang out with _Houjou_ tonight?"

"I'm happy for you."

Inuyasha involuntarily growled at the mention of aforementioned boy's name.

Eri peeked around her friend to see the long haired, dog-eared half-demon sitting on the other side. "Oh, Kagome," she jabbered conspiringly into the other female's ear, "that guy next to you—he's so _cute!_ Beyond cute—he's hot!"

Kagome somehow managed to smile demurely as she heard her fiancé make a nervous cough. "Eri, I want you to meet Inuyasha."

"This is the guy you've been seeing?"

She bobbed her head in response. "Uh-huh. Say hi, Inuyasha."

He grunted, "Hey." Inuyasha still had nightmares from when Eri wanted to check if he was male…

"So," Kagome turned to Eri, while Inuyasha scooted away a tad, "where's Yuka and Ayumi?"

Eri shaded her eyes with a hand. "I think that's them."

It turned out Eri was right, for within a few moments, two other teenage girls jogged up. Ayumi smiled from beneath the shade of her blue sun visor while Yuka immediately hopped up beside Eri.

"This is going to be awesome," Yuka cheered to her friend, as Ayumi sat down next to her. "I can't wait to see how the Tigers are going to crush the Dragons!"

Nodding, Eri announced, "Totally. And guess what? Kagome's brought her boyfriend!"

Yuka gaped. "You're kidding?" Leaning over, she said to Kagome, "You brought him with you?"

Kagome smiled. "Yeah. He's sitting right next to me."

With a sigh, Inuyasha poked his head around his fiancée—for some reason, that term made him more comfortable than 'boyfriend' did—and gave a short bob of his head. He quickly reclined back, waiting for the game to start.

Grinning, Yuka asked, "What's his name?"

"Inuyasha," replied Kagome.

"Uh…Kagome…" Eri and Yuka leaned over their friend. One looked from the other, until Eri took over speaking, "We know you didn't have a boyfriend and everything, and that some mikos still use sorcery…"

Kagome tipped her head. "So—and?"

Eri glanced at Yuka, who in turn said, "Don't you think it's a little weird to turn your dog into your boyfriend?" She missed Kagome's nervous laugh. "I mean, I know you probably needed companionship…"

"Guys, it's nothing like that!" she protested, still giggling anxiously. It was _sort of_ like that, but Inuyasha had always been a half-demon… "It's a coincidence."

Inuyasha shook his head; with those three around, this was going to be some game.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the first four innings, the Dragons were up by one. The bases were loaded with two outs, and the Tigers' pitcher (Houjou), was nodding with an unaccustomed seriousness on his face. He nodded as the catcher gave him the signal before rearing back his hand and sending a fast ball at the boy up to bat.

The guy swung and missed.

"Strike one!" called the umpire.

Inuyasha, whose baseball vernacular was considerably better, looked to Kagome. "Two more strikes and the Dragon are back on the field, right?"

Kagome bobbed her head. "Yup. We'll have a short break before the beginning of the fifth, so the teams can re-warm up, and I'll get us something to drink, and some food, too." She watched as Houjou rotated his arm, shifting his grip on the ball. "Houjou's an excellent pitcher."

"Is this the same guy you went to the movies with, Kagome?" the half-demon asked tensely.

"Yeah. He invited me to the game, and to hang out, but I told him I was going with someone else," the girl said, before suddenly bursting into another cheer—as were the rest of the roaring Tigers' fans—as Houjou threw a wicked curve ball, earning the call of, "Strike two!"

Cocking his head, annoyed confusion evident on his face, the hanyou queried, "Who were you planning on going with?"

Kagome tore her eyes away from the game and laughingly replied, "With you, silly!"

Inuyasha smirked at his fiancée as Eri started a chant of, "Let's go, Houjou!"

The Tigers' fans joined in the rooting; Houjou flashed a good-natured smile before returning to a staid visage. He tipped the bill of his cap once and launched another fast ball at the batter. The batter swung right past it and the baseball came to land in the catcher's mitt. With a loud cry of, "YOU'RE OUT!" from the umpire, the batter threw his bat with an indistinct curse and the Dragons took the field.

"I'll be right back," Kagome told Inuyasha above the noise.

He nodded as she squeezed by him and headed to the concession stands set up on the outdoor basketball court. Inuyasha was actually enjoying the game, though some of the smells and noises he could live without, but he liked having Kagome sitting beside him, and leaning over to explain things to him about different aspects of the game; subsequently he wouldn't be so confused.

Inuyasha's eyes scanned over the Dragons, who were playing catch while the Tigers were drinking some water and talking to one another. That Houjou kid was talking to a couple of his teammates; now that he wasn't a concern to the hanyou, as Kagome had turned him down and apparently was taking her friend Eri—he had heard her talking with his fiancée—Inuyasha didn't mind the human brat too much. Kagome wanted to be with him, and Inuyasha was perfectly fine with that. All in all, it was going well.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" Yuka asked, as she and the other two crowded around him as best they could.

Well, he could live without these three. "What?"

"How long have you been with Kagome?"

"Uh…since Christmas." Inuyasha reclined into the chain link fence behind him.

Eri inquired, "Are you treating her well?"

Yuka turned to Eri. "Do you honestly think he'd answer an incriminating question?" She gave a haughty look at the other girl.

"Well, he could've faltered up, or had a guilty conscience if he cared about her," Eri defended.

"That was such a dumb question." Yuka rolled her eyes.

"It was not!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"UH-HUH!"

"NUH-UH!"

As Yuka was about to throw another "uh-huh" at Eri, Ayumi softly queried, "Have you kissed yet?" Eri and Yuka hushed up instantly and stared at Inuyasha expectantly.

"W-well…" he stuttered, feeling red over the face. "N-not exactly…" _She wasn't even awake…_ he mentally moaned.

Yuka pushed Eri out of the way, as she was closest to the hanyou, and interrogated, "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

Inuyasha held his tongue back to stop from yelling at her; these were Kagome's friends—though he couldn't figure out why—and he knew she would be royally pissed if he made them upset. An angry Kagome was actually pretty scary. He decided to play it safe and just look away without saying a word.

"I guess that must mean no," Yuka sighed before being yanked ungracefully backwards by Eri.

Eri nodded. "How _boring_."

"Don't you want to kiss Kagome?"

Inuyasha face felt hot, beyond minor embarrassment hot. "I…"

"Hey, Inuyasha," Kagome chirped, clambering up the bleachers with food and drink in hand. Her sunglasses were now perched atop her head—they had been hanging from the neck of her light blue tank top. "I got you a hotdog." She laughed when he gave her a slightly repulsed look. "It's a poor man's rolled up beefsteak, remember?"

Inuyasha nodded once, remembering when Souta explained it. "Yeah, but why do they have to call it a hotdog?"

She shrugged as she passed him his food and a plastic bottle. "I don't know. And I got you some water."

"Thanks." He took a bite out of his hotdog and hastily swallowed. "That's really good!"

Kagome giggled. "I figured you'd like it." She screwed the cap off her water and took a long drink. As she replaced the lid, she turned to her friends, "Where you guys pestering him? Inuyasha looked like he was about to get claustrophobic."

"Well," started Yuka, a bit sulkily, "we wanted to know—"

"Look," blurted out the hanyou, "the game's starting up again."

Ayumi looked to the field. "It is. Let's watch."

Bobbling her head vigorously, Eri bubbled, "I wanna watch Houjou-the-Hunk throw the Dragons back into last century."

"This ought to be good." Yuka dug a bottle of sports drink from her backpack purse. "Even if Houjou does send them back into the Meiji or something."

Inuyasha glanced down at the field and sighed with relief, the warmth still in his face; he hadn't been sure if the game was back on or not.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome let out a sigh. The Tigers had won by a single homerun in the final inning, and everyone continued to cheer. Eri had run down to greet Houjou, who smiled and scooped her into his arms and spun her around out of sheer excitement; it looked like they were going to be just fine together. Yuka and Ayumi invited Kagome and Inuyasha to the mall, but the girl had declined.

Kagome's reason for sighing was quite simple: this little day had not gone at all how she had planned.

She had figured during school that day that she was going to spend some time with Inuyasha—talk to him, get to know him better. Even if she hadn't asked Eri to sit, she would have, and there was really no polite way to turn her friend down. She could have dealt with Eri, because she would have been preoccupied with Houjou, but when Yuka and Ayumi showed up, Kagome knew her fate had been sealed.

Ayumi would have watched the game, but Yuka was so bossy and nosy, especially when it came to Kagome's love life, that there was no way she would be able to have any form of personal communication with Inuyasha.

Right now, she and Inuyasha were making their way home on foot. The sun was setting, casting a pretty fiery glow on Tokyo and Inuyasha. Kagome blushed slightly as she felt her fiancé's hand brush against her, and one finger wrapped itself around another one of hers. She darted her gaze from straight ahead when she felt Inuyasha stop walking and pull on her finger, signaling for her to cease as well; his face was soft and his eyes were depthless.

"Kagome," he said gruffly, yet in a loving way while he laced all of his fingers with hers and drew her towards him.

She swallowed anxiously. "Y-yes…?" Kagome was now close to him, much closer than she had been with him…ever. His skin looked a little off, a bit dry, and she raised her hand to his cheek. "Inuyasha…"

He didn't say anything as he took his other hand and tipped her chin up, his gaze burning hotly on her.

Kagome could feel her heart speeding up as her fiancé's mouth grew closer to hers. She knew what was going to happen, and her tongue wet her lips slightly.

Inuyasha could feel the inches of space melt away and the dreamy look in Kagome's eyes, and the feel of her hand as it touched his cheek—"SHIT!" he shrieked, leaping backwards.

Kagome, whose hand was till being held by the hanyou, was jerked forward a few steps. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Taking one of his own hands and, pressing it to his flesh, made another yelp. "My skin hurts," he whimpered. "And it feels warm."

"Feels warm?" echoed Kagome. Stepping close to him again, she snickered. "You have a sunburn."

"I do not," protested Inuyasha. "There's no fucking way."

"I told you if you didn't have sunscreen on you were going to get burned." Kagome shook her head.

Growling slightly, he pulled his hand away from his fiancée and touched a claw to his cheek. Once again, a tingle of pain rippled through his cheek. He glared at Kagome as she continued to laugh. "It's not funny…"

She grinned. "Oh yes it is."

"No, it's not!" He crossed his arms firmly over his chest, one of his ears twitching in irritation, which also sent another spasm of pain through his nerve-endings, and another wave of giggles through Kagome. "What the hell?!"

"Your ears got sunburned, too!"

"Damn it! This is not my day!"

Kagome dissolved into more laughter. "I told you so."

"Shut up, bitch."

"I was right, dog boy."

"Yeah, yeah…" Inuyasha groused as they began to trek home again.

"Don't worry," Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder, "we'll put some nice lotion on it when we get home…you big baby," she added under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I know, it took so long but it was well worth it. I laughed so hard while writing this. Please review! Oh, and as of late, my e-mail has not been participating with me because there's Spyware on our computer. Major sigh. So, please don't send me any forwards or anything, as that takes up a lot of space. Thanks! Baseball is really big in Japan so I thought "why not?" and went with it. If it is necessary to contact me, like Notoes: This is also temporary.

Moonlight Shadow


	28. A Gentleman's Game

A/N: According to the 3rd Inuyasha movie, Inuyasha's mother's name is Izayoi; however, when I started writing this fic, the 3rd movie was not out. Inu no Taisho can be condensed as Inutaisho. I can't remember who noticed, but thank you to whoever pointed out that Inuyasha's betrothed name should be fiancé and Kagome's should be the only one with two E's at the end. Sorry—no one else noticed. Weird… I'll post the corrected chapters later. Now, could we please get back to the more pertinent matter of the story?

_Chapter Twenty-Eight:__ A Gentleman's Game_

Sesshoumaru languidly flipped through the stack of papers on his hardwood desk. The thick pile of various forms had taken him some time, but faster than someone who was not as versed in legalese as he. He pinched the bridge of his nose, finally feeling the fatigue of endlessly scrutinizing the world of black and white, and focused his gaze on the snake plant by the door. Eyes tired, Sesshoumaru began to recline in his high-backed swivel chair with the full intent of taking a short nap.

It had been roughly three weeks since he and Inuyasha, along with his fiancée, had gone down into the bowels of Father's catacombs and retrieved the deed along with the Shikon no Tama; his brother was now free of disguise and able to walk around in plain daylight, rather than being masqueraded as a dog. Truth be told, Sesshoumaru got a sadistic pleasure out of the notion of his brother being walked about on a leash. That was more humiliation than he could ever possibly hope to achieve. It was probably the most humbling thing Inuyasha could have been turned into, a domestic house pet.

It was mid-afternoon on a comfortable Friday in March, and he'd be leaving in a couple of hours for Kagura's art exhibit. She was going to unveil another painting at the downtown Tokyo art museum, and it was in his best interest to be there; regardless that the mansion they lived was from his fortune, if he angered his fiery-eyed wife, he quite possibly could find himself sleeping in one of the spare bedrooms rather than on the king size Swedish mattress in their master bedroom. Besides, the painting was one of their beautiful daughter Yuki and soon-to-be adopted daughter Rin, and Sesshoumaru admittedly enjoyed Kagura's work.

So, folding his arms across his stomach and sliding his eyelids together, Sesshoumaru allowed himself to relax until there was beep on the intercom sitting on the corner of his desk. He made a slight noise of agitation when Jaken's voice crackled into the room.

"Master Sesshoumaru," squawked the toad demon urgently, "there's a call for you."

Sitting up enough to hit the talk button, he replied coolly, "Take down their name and number, Jaken, and I will get back to them at my leisure."

"B-but, Master Sesshoumaru," verbally stumbled Jaken, "it's someone you _surely_ would want to talk to!"

Sesshoumaru leaned forward more, his annoyance rising as he rather glared at the intercom. "Oh? And that might be…?" he asked, taking a sip of the half-filled cup of coffee from his desk.

"Onigumo Naraku."

His hand lingered above the talk button, his glare lessening into a more curious one that wrinkled his brow. Finally, he languorously pushed the button and murmured, "Transfer him."

"Y-yes, Master…. He's on line one."

"Thank you, Jaken," he said quietly before turning his attention to the flashing red light on his black business phone. Lifting the receiver to his ear, Sesshoumaru pressed it, hearing the other line click on. "Yes?"

"Tanaka Sesshoumaru…?" an oily voice, saccharine sweet slithered its way into the regal dog demon's ear.

"Yes, and this would be Onigumo Naraku, I presume." Sesshoumaru sat upright in his chair, as if the dignified posture could be seen by this vile creature—and he would be little surprised if Naraku could.

A dark chuckle echoed over the wire. "As sharp as always."

"Cut to the chase. Why are you calling me?"

"Mmm…" Naraku's smirk could be heard as he said, "I'm coming to Tokyo early, a month to be most precise, and I think it would best if there was some form of…_proper_ welcome in order. Who better than you?"

Sesshoumaru's claw scratched slowly down the plastic receiver, a simper forming on his thin lips. "You must have other motives…I doubt this is just a paltry phone call."

Naraku chuckled again. "I merely wanted to meet with such an influential business such as yourself, and from such a highly regarded family…it only seemed fitting. It would reflect well on both of us press-wise, would it not?"

Sesshoumaru knew he was toying with him, and it bothered him, but he did not allow his irritation to shine through his tone. "So what exactly are you seeking in this sort of…welcome?"

"Some form of great party—the one that would be filled with esteemed company of your caliber, Sesshoumaru."

"I see…"

"I leave the preparations themselves in your very capable hands. I am sure you can think of something impressive. I have left my contact number with your assistant so you can give me a proper invitation when you do." There was a pause followed by a low, "And say hello to your dear little brother Inuyasha for me, would you? He seems to be doing well."

With a brief click, Sesshoumaru was left with dead air whispering in his ear. He stared around his well-decorated office once, digesting what Naraku had said in its entirety. That phone call had just been a polite way of saying "fuck you" and Sesshoumaru would be damned if he let that bastard have the last say.

He wet his lips before setting the receiver back on its cradle. He raised the mug of hot black coffee to his mouth and took a long swallow, polishing off what remained. Setting his cup down, he pressed the intercom button. "Jaken, I need you to get things organized for me. I'll send you a memo with the details later."

"Yes, Master Sesshoumaru… Does this have something to do with Naraku, sir?" he asked timidly.

"We're going to be playing a game, Jaken."

"A game, Master? What kind of game would that be?"

Sesshoumaru wryly smirked. "A gentleman's game."

Rising out of his chair, the dog demon stooped to lift his briefcase; perhaps he'd leave early and surprise Yuki and Rin by picking them up from school. The children seemed to always put him in better temperament. He made for the door, reaching into his pocket and extracting his sleek cell phone. Flipping it open, he paused, his thumb hovering above the first digit of the girls' chauffer, who usually picked them up from school in a Honda Element rather than a limousine—he didn't want either child picked on because of their financial status, as rich kids can be bullied, and they were his little dolls—but first he glided to the intercom.

"One more thing, Jaken."

"Yes, Master Sesshoumaru?"

"Water my snake plant."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, I'm open, Kohaku!" shouted Souta as he jogged a few paces ahead of his friend.

Kohaku nodded his head once, dribbling around Miroku and kicking the soccer ball over to his friend. "It's all yours!"

Souta slid for the ball only to have it snatched away by Inuyasha. "Huh?" The boy didn't even have the chance to blink as the half-demon, who had down-played his demonic speed and strength the entire scrimmage, shot the ball at the goal.

The ball sailed over Kohaku's head and into the net.

"Nice shot," congratulated Miroku, exchanging a high-five with the hanyou; over the weeks he had spent hanging out at the Higurashis, and doing the operative work for Sesshoumaru, the pair had grown to be good friends.

Inuyasha smirked. "Heh."

"Oh, you two are _so_ mature," Sango's voice called out as she and Kagome walked over the soccer field with sport bottles for all in their hands.

"Tell me about it," added Kagome. "Two teenagers playing against two little boys—what a hollow victory."

"Whatever," retorted Inuyasha, the smirk not leaving his face. "You're just jealous because you stink at soccer."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "As if. I remember Souta having to teach you how to play, so don't give me that. Besides," she flashed him a smirk of her own, "I'd run circles around you, dog boy."

Miroku chuckled. "She's right, Inuyasha. Kagome is an excellent soccer player."

The girl beamed.

"Keh." He crossed his arms.

Sango made an admonishing noise in the back of her throat as she tossed a couple of bottles Souta and Kohaku's way. "You know, Kagome," she handed one to Miroku, "we should join this little game." She came to Inuyasha and bopped him on the head with his sports bottle.

"Hey! What's that for?" He snatched the drink out of her hands and undid the cap.

"For beating my little brother in soccer." Sango opened her lemon-lime drink. "Kagome and I asked you two to help _practice _with the boys, not crush them."

Kagome nodded. She smiled suddenly and held up a finger. "I've got an idea."

Wiping a stripe of purple away from his top lip, Souta inquired, "What is it, Sis?"

"How about we pick teams?" she asked. Kagome grinned even more as the boys bobbled their heads in near unison. "You and Kohaku can be captains."

"Are you gonna play, Kagome?" shyly queried Kohaku, red blush creeping into his cheeks.

"Of course!"

Sango giggled lightly into her hand. "Do you want Kagome on your team, Kohaku?"

"Uh…" the boy drawled, his face flaring up like a fluorescent red light bulb. "Um…y-yeah…"

Souta's gaze flickered happily between his best friend and his sister. "Well, she's my sister, so I guess she can be on your team."

"Hey, twerp," broke-in Kagome, "I'm not some kind of possession you can just trade off."

"Can too!" the boy cheered. He busted out laughing when his sister started to chase him. "Well, I pick Sango!" Souta managed above his snickers. He finally stopped running when Kagome managed to poke him and leave him be.

"Looks like they're trading sisters," commented Sango with a soft smile.

"Then…" Kohaku thought for a moment, "I want Miroku on my team."

Souta grinned hugely. "Then I get Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha swallowed the last bit of his drink and set his bottle to the sidelines where Miroku and Kagome's unopened bottles sat. "Well, are you ready to play, kid?"

"You bet!"

The foursome of boys had been playing soccer for well over an hour. Sango and Kagome had sat and chit-chatted at the edge of the soccer field, where their brothers' teams practiced, and had only disappeared to retrieve the sports drinks from the ice chest in the back of Miroku's car.

Now everyone was playing a fair game of three-on-three. At first, Souta or Inuyasha would shout out the score, but after a while, everyone began to forget who was winning until the entire game became a giant, jumbled, laughing tussle that was a cross between rugby and volleyball.

Even so, everyone had enjoyed themselves, and Inuyasha had begrudgingly admitted that, when the game was still actually soccer, Kagome was a good player…but not as good as he. (That comment had earned him a short, yet playful, cuff around the dog ears).

By the time Miroku dropped Kagome and Souta off—Inuyasha had run alongside the car a majority of the time, as there were not enough seatbelts for everyone ("Show off!" Sango had shouted from the shotgun seat)—everyone was exhausted. The Higurashi siblings, and their hanyou, were bidding farewell to their friends when Inuyasha's flip phone rang.

The half-demon, who didn't receive a lot of calls, gave a slight jump in surprise as the cellular phone beeped from his pocket. He whipped it out, knowing before he even answered who was on the other line. "What is it, Sesshoumaru?"

"Be expecting Kagura and myself at roughly nine thirty tonight. There is something we need to discuss."

Inuyasha glanced from Kagome, who stood quietly at his right, to the rest of the company who also listened intently. "What's that?"

"Naraku."

Kagome watched as her fiancé's face drained a bit of color until a darker, angrier hue overtook his tanned skin. (The sunburn had only been a temporary, one day ordeal and Inuyasha had never burned since). She delicately laid a hand on his arm.

The hanyou's left fang hooked over his bottom lip. "What's he up to?"

"We have to welcome him… We will discuss this further later tonight."

"But—" Inuyasha began, yet was cut off by the sharp beep, signaling that Sesshoumaru, once again, had ended the conversation. He gave a short growl before hastily slapping the phone closed and stuffing it in his pocket. "Stupid, lousy…" his voice drifted off into, thankfully for Souta's easily influenced ears, incoherent curses and swear words.

Miroku glimpsed to Sango in the passenger seat and then to Inuyasha. "I guess we will be seeing you soon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, guys," said Kagome, waving at them as the Toyota drove off.

"Sis?" Souta spoke up from her side. "What's Inuyasha so mad about? Who's this Naraku guy?"

"Never mind, Souta," she answered before ushering him up the shrine steps. "Let's go inside. Come on, Inuyasha." Her cobalt eyes flickered to where her fiancé had been standing only to find he had vacated that spot. Still sensing his aura very nearby, Kagome started up the stairs with Souta toddling up with her.

Inuyasha watched them from the safety of the Goshinboku, wanting to get away for one spare moment—more away from Souta than from Kagome. That kid would probably read him his rights with all the questions he more than likely had. He sighed, reclining against the bark of the sacred tree as his mind began to collect and his thoughts became lucid. "Looks like Naraku's made his first move…"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At precisely nine-thirty that night, the Higurashi family was going about their various activities like usual. Souta was back to playing some fighting game, while Grampa was playing a losing game of chess with Mama.

"They'll be here any minute now…" Kagome said quietly, tugging on one of the loose threads on the throw pillow in her lap. "I wonder what they have to say about Naraku…"

Inuyasha sat beside his fiancée on the couch with his arms crossed over his torso. "I'm sure everything will work out fine, Kagome. Sesshoumaru may be a total ass clown, but he does know how to keep his cool." Glancing over, he mumbled, "In the meantime," he snatched the pillow away from her hands, "will you stop fiddling with that?"

"Hey!" she protested, swinging an arm towards him as he leaned back with a chuckle, holding the dark green throw-pillow out of reach. "Give that back!"

"Nothing doing," snickered Inuyasha, waving it up higher as he arched over the arm of the sofa. He laughed more as his fiancée rather gave a growl. "What's wrong, _Kagome?_" he drawled with a smirk. "Can't reach that far?"

"Give it back, Inuyasha!" Kagome swiped at it again, only to be thwarted like before. She paused for a moment, her muscles coiling a little bit, her mind completely focused on the pillow, Kagome sprung on Inuyasha. She pushed him backwards, the pillow fell from his hands, and she became face-to-face with her fiancé.

Or, more accurately…lip-to-lip.

Kagome's face flared red, as did Inuyasha's. Here she was, sprawled over the length of his body, eyes wide and lips against his while the pillow lay forgotten on the floor. Inuyasha's chest rose and fell evenly, pushing her torso upwards as well in the process while they both continued to make sounds of discomfiture in the backs of their throats. She lingered there for a moment, too stunned at their highly embarrassing predicament.

This really wasn't how she imagined her first, real kiss to be—mashed up against the guy's lips without actually kissing-kissing.

Gingerly, she carefully sat up and backed away a bit, only to have Inuyasha's hands dart out and grab hold of her forearm. "Huh?"

"Don't…" he whispered huskily, drawing her to him, and Kagome found herself obligingly bowing towards him while one of his hands moved to the small of her back.

As she could feel Inuyasha's warm breath teasing the little wisps of hair about her face, Kagome heard a sound rap on the frame of the sliding front door. With a yelp of surprise, the girl tumbled off her fiancé and landed smack on her rump.

Inuyasha had bolted up right, his dog ears ringing painfully. "Did you have to screech so loud?" he moaned as he rubbed at an ear.

"Yes, I did," she retorted with just as much ill-humor as the even knocking occurred once more. "Look, I better get that. Sesshoumaru's here."

"How can you tell?" Inuyasha snapped, now stomping after her.

She whipped her head around to glare at him. "I can sense him, genius. Can't you smell him with that sensitive nose of yours?"

Inuyasha snorted lightly. "Naturally."

With a strangled sigh, Kagome opened the door to find the somewhat amused face of Sesshoumaru and the woman with him that the girl did not doubt to be his wife Kagura, as she herself had never laid eyes on the Mrs. Tanaka Sesshoumaru before. One hint was the expression she shared with her husband, and the other being that she had the same color hair as little Yuki. The obvious air of confidence she gave off, much akin to the fair-haired demon with her, solidified Kagome's assumption—she doubted Sesshoumaru would choose a pushover as his wife.

"A lovers' tiff?" asked Kagura, a half-smirk crossing her red-painted lips.

"Eh…" Kagome shook her head, still warm in the face—there was also no doubt that Kagura would know who she was. "No, just a little bickering with an idiot."

Kagura nodded knowledgeably as the girl let Sesshoumaru and herself in. "Well, you know the old saying: Don't fight with stupid people because they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow a tad. "Are you implying something, dear?" he asked, as cool as ever.

She looked to him, removing her long, grey trench coat. "Of course not. Would I ever say such a thing about you?" A flicker of a smirk twitched over her mouth. "You knew well enough to show up to my exhibit tonight."

He strode over and placed a hand on her shoulder before reaching over and taking her coat and slinging it over his arm. "You know I would not have missed it, Kagura."

"I know you wouldn't have dared."

"Well, then," Sesshoumaru chuckled dryly, "there leaves only one idiot in the room…" His pale peering scanned over to Inuyasha.

The hanyou folded his arms. "Keh. Why is that our conversations turn at least once to make me the butt of some joke?"

Sesshoumaru's lip lifted slightly into a semi-smile. "Perhaps it is your natural disposition of being an ass."

"Listen, Sesshoumaru—" began Inuyasha in loud, obvious annoyance as he raised a fist.

Kagome hastily cut of his rant, which would have surely turned into a string of colorful words, by placing a hand over his mouth. "Sesshoumaru," said the irate hanyou's fiancée, managing to keep a forced smile as Inuyasha continued to burble expletives into her palm, "what exactly do you have to tell us about Naraku?" She removed her hand with some satisfaction when the half-demon stopped throwing a tantrum in exchange to hear his brother out.

The older demon stared down at Inuyasha and his betrothed before striding majestically to take a seat on sofa the couple had been previously waiting on.

Kagura followed suit, her long hunter skirt shifting as she crossed her legs. She nodded at the young couple, signaling that it would be best if they also found a place to sit—that this might take some time. She watched with satisfaction as the two understood and found spots—Inuyasha in a blue recliner with Kagome perched on the arm.

Silence stretched indolently as her husband took his sweet time feeling settled. Too much silence had a tendency to annoy her, so, with a flickered glance of her ruby eyes, Kagura suggested, with a directive tone, "Perhaps now would be a good time as any to drop the dramatics and tell them outright, Sesshoumaru." She simpered indulgently as her husband looked to her and returned the expression.

As Sesshoumaru made the final touches of becoming comfortable on the couch, Inuyasha felt a newfound respect for Kagura. She had managed to do the seemingly impossible—make Sesshoumaru do as told. Good thing Kagome did not have that kind of control over _him._

"I was contacted by Naraku this afternoon," started Sesshoumaru. "He apparently is making his visit to Tokyo earlier than expected. The original date he was to be here was sometime in May." Absently running a claw over a button, his listless gaze came to light upon his brother. "He has decided to come in a month—he will be here in April. Naraku is…" he leaned back a bit, "mocking us. Or more accurately—you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's amber eyes snapped with heated dapples of crimson. "That son of a bitch…!" he hissed behind gnashed teeth, his voice carrying throughout the room in a smothered growl. "How dare he?"

Touching a hand gently to the fuming hanyou's shoulder, Kagome's cobalt eyes moved from her fiancé to Sesshoumaru. "So what exactly are we going to do? This was obviously a…tactic of some sort. We can't let Naraku think we're imbeciles or something." Catching the slight glint in his eyes, the girl continued, "And I doubt you would allow him such a pleasure."

"A vile thing like that is worthy of being crushed," Sesshoumaru said flippantly, as if he were merely commenting on the weather.

"To put it quite simply," furthered Kagura, touching a hand to her husband's in an unobtrusive brush, "from what Sesshoumaru has told me, Naraku is expecting us to throw him such a grandeur party—he'll no doubt bring the press with him, so we're going to give him the finest greeting and make him eat his own disgusting thoughts."

"He'd blackmail you otherwise," remarked Kagome, catching on. "He'd make your family to look rude and your reputations would be ruined."

Kagura smiled softly, almost viciously. "Precisely. We're going to fight fire with fire."

Inuyasha, who had calmed down considerably, or enough to converse without dropping the f-bomb after every third word, crossed his arms over his chest while his fiancée moved her hand from his shoulder. "But where exactly is the irony besides throwing this big ass party? How do we upstage him?"

"This is much like chess, but it's much simpler than you think, little brother," said Sesshoumaru with that familiar gleam of sadistic mischief in his eyes.

"How's that?" queried Inuyasha impatiently.

"Naraku mentioned you by name."

Sesshoumaru's frank reply left both Kagome and Inuyasha flatfooted.

"Well then," Inuyasha was the first to recover, "I guess Naraku's been keeping his eyes and ears alert."

Without batting an eyelash, Sesshoumaru murmured, "Most probably keeping track of Kagome and the whereabouts of Tetsusaiga."

Kagome's face paled a little. "I g-guess so. That would make sense." The idea of Naraku watching her, in any form, freaked her out.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed into a glare. "So…what the hell's going on?"

"In the great honor of Onigumo Naraku gracing us with his presence," Sesshoumaru said with utmost, deadpan sarcasm, "we will hold a ball of sorts. And to put the icing on the cake, it will be at my summer home—your estate, Inuyasha."

"A ball…in my home…?" whispered the hanyou in disbelief. "Uh, I hate to break it to ya--but I don't know anything about ballroom dancing."

"I am not surprised. We will all meet at the estate promptly tomorrow around midmorning, and will reside there for the remainder of the preparations." Sesshoumaru ran a claw delicately over the back of his wife's hand. "It will be good for you to know the layout of your own home, and a month should be sufficient for that."

"What am I going to do about school?" asked Kagome, feeling a little frantic. "A whole month? But I've mock exams coming up in two months, and I really have to be ready!"

Half-smiling in a rather pleasant way, Kagura answered, "I'll have that straightened out with your school. You're just spending a month-long vacation with your family, and you'll have to bring your schoolwork with you, if you plan to study while there."

Kagome nodded gratefully as Inuyasha spoke again. "Is a month really necessary? We could learn the layout of the place in a week probably." He slouched in the recliner, rocking his fiancée a bit as he did. "What's the point of hanging out and watching all the little preparations being made? I'll be damned if I let that asshole Naraku go by me with out beating the shit out of him."

"That is exactly why Sesshoumaru and I are keeping you two in the mansion for a month," said Kagura, enjoying the irritated look on her brother-in-law's face.

Inuyasha gave another quiet snarl. "Why the hell can't we just annihilate him or something? It's not like anyone would miss him… Besides, chess is a war game, Sesshoumaru, so it'd be fitting at least."

"At least you have some form of common knowledge in that head of yours," quietly retorted Sesshoumaru. "There are, little brother, many strategies one must follow in the art of war. This tactic is knowing how to be refined and defeat your foe through the wiles of society—this, my dear Inuyasha, is something you are ignorant of."

"You fucking bastard…" ground out the half-demon, sitting up straighter as he resisted the urge to rush over and whack Sesshoumaru—it'd probably only help to serve his point. "So what are you going to do, Sesshoumaru," simpered Inuyasha, "teach me how to be sneaky and underhanded without actually doing a damn thing?"

Sesshoumaru's lips flipped into a smirk, solidifying his brother's accusation. "I must take you from social infancy to manhood in one month… I suggest both you and your fiancée pack appropriately."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I know, it took a while, but I was in a bit of writer's block. School's starting soon, and I still have a few things I need to do, and they take precedence. (See my live journal, or 'homepage for further details). I just recovered from a pretty nasty fall a few days ago, so… I wrote a poem that's getting some cool reviews. Hopefully I'll have more time, and the muses will be in better temperament, for the next chapter.

Moonlight Shadow


	29. Rain and Remembrance

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Inuyasha…yet….

A/N: Thanks for the majority of kind, perceptive reviews. Don't worry, there will be more romance, as that seems to be the greatest outcry, and, yes, I do suppose the _Mask of Zorro _factor is here, huh? (I was kind of thinking that myself when I plotted out this idea). The family name Tanaka is just a random Japanese family name that I picked from a list my friend Erin found for me. (Thank you, Ed!). I think it's fairly common, but I don't remember.

In Japan a girl can be 16 to get married but a boy has to be 18, so he can provide for her. The story is rated for language, as FF is cracking down on misdemeanors, or so they believe. I'd rather not get in trouble. Of course, it says why it is rated as it is in one of the author's notes and in the summary…. Kagome celebrated the commercial Christmas, not the religious one.

This is dedicated to my wonderful friend Jazz the Wolf Demon. (Her writing is stupendous!) She totally rocks.

_Chapter Twenty-Nine: __Rain and Remembrance_

"So much to do…and so much to pack," Kagome said with a sigh as she folded another shirt and placed it carefully in her black suitcase. She grabbed a pair of socks and stuffed them also in her bag as Buyo loitered on her bed, contentedly resting on her pillow.

"You don't really need to pack all that—do you?" queried Inuyasha from the doorway. Sauntering into the room, he hopped on the bed beside his fiancée's bag, sitting with his legs a little farther than shoulder width apart. Reaching over he extracted a bottle. "Hairspray?" He leaned forward to get a better look within the suitcase while Kagome made sounds of annoyance. "How many changes of clothes do you actually need?"

The girl batted at the hanyou's hands as he leafed through her clothes, merely flicking them aside with his claws. She made a shrill 'eep!' when Inuyasha accidentally pulled out one of her bras—he'd been taken aback himself.

"Why is this thing so lacy?" he asked, holding it arm's length and then bringing it a little closer for inspection.

"Inuyasha!"

"What?" he inquired innocently. "No one is going to see it, so why does it have to be all frilly?"

"It makes me feel pretty." Kagome snatched it from his hands while she felt the hot blush stain her cheeks. Somehow, the prospect of explaining to Inuyasha _why_ wearing it would make her feel so princess-like, was just shy better of having her eyelashes plucked out one-by-one.

He stared at her like she was insane for a moment before saying, as he tossed her can of hairspray into her luggage, "But, why do you need so many clothes? You can just wash them while you're there."

Hastily hiding the undergarment at the bottom of her packed attire, she abashedly mumbled, "Because we're going to be there for a month, Inuyasha. I have to be prepared. I don't want my clothes to get worn out from washing them too often."

Shrugging, the half-demon laid over the bed, his long legs dangling off the edge. It would probably be best if he let her finish packing. He didn't want to pull out another one of her unmentionables; he was still a bit hot in the face from that _brilliant _display. "Whatever. I was done packing a while ago."

Without looking up as she refolded some of her clothes, Kagome stated crisply, "Mama helped you didn't she?"

"So? I did some of it myself."

She didn't answer as she zipped up her suitcase, quite proud with all that she managed to fit in it. Sesshoumaru's driver would be arriving soon to take them to his summer home--Inuyasha's mansion. Kagome was anxious to see the estate, but she was also excited to learn proper etiquette. For some reason, she had always fancied the idea of learning to be polished.

Or maybe the idea of Inuyasha learning how to waltz was just too hilarious to get out of her head.

Kagome grinned to herself as her eyes unnoticeably fell onto her fiancé. _I wonder what Inuyasha getting 'prepared' for the ball is going to be like…_

Giggling to herself, she hefted her yellow backpack from the floor. It was heavy with school books, and the girl stared at her baggage and pack with a slight frown. There was no way she was going to be able to tote all of her stuff down the stairs in one trip. Frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if she tripped halfway down with all of it weighing her down.

Inuyasha sat up a little, still slumping, but his dog ears pivoted around. "I think the chauffer is here. You got everything, Kagome?" He slid off the bed.

Nodding, she began to slide the straps of her knapsack over her shoulders. "Yeah," she grunted, "I got it all." She reached over for her suitcase, only to have it moved from her grasp. Kagome peered from the clawed hand on the handle to the hanyou's face. "Inuyasha?"

"Don't worry about it," he said breezily, dropping the luggage onto its wheels. He snatched her yellow backpack from behind her head and she unwittingly wriggled free. He carried the other bag in his free hand and started out of her room.

"Isn't that heavy…?" Kagome asked, stunned.

His response didn't surprise her that much, though. "Not at all."

The girl smiled after him. She looked to her cat. "I guess Inuyasha possesses _some_ chivalry."

Reaching over to pet Buyo, she heard her fiancé call, "My bag's in my room. You should be able to carry it, as weak as you are. I didn't pack as much junk as you did."

A narrow-eyed stare fixed on Buyo. "Well," she sighed, "I guess Inuyasha still has a lot to learn. I guess Kagura and Sesshoumaru were right—we're definitely going to need a month to make him refined."

Buyo purred and rolled over onto his back. He let out a long meow.

Smiling slightly, Kagome rubbed the calico's tummy. "I have a feeling you're agreeing with me."

"Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha from downstairs. "Hurry the hell up would you, you lazy woman?"

With a click of her tongue, she responded, "Ok, I'll be there in a sec! Buyo," she fondly massaged the chubby feline's ear, "wish me luck. I think I'm going to need it…. Or if anything, patience—I might accidentally kill Inuyasha otherwise."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha and Kagome cruised along in the large limousine, enjoying the ample supply of leg room and the TV, which the hanyou was flipping through channels. So far, all he found was game shows. With a sigh, he shut it off. "Count on Sesshoumaru not to have cable for this stupid thing…."

Glancing over, Kagome took the remote from his hand and turned the screen back on. Pressing two buttons, she went to the huge listing of channels they could get. Passing it to a stunned Inuyasha, she said, "It's satellite."

Temporarily awed, her fiancé channel surfed once more with renewed vigor.

Kagome went back to peering out the window. Dark clouds breathed in long tendrils across the sky that was no doubt a greyer shade of blue.

They had been driving for at least an hour, and in that time, she had completed a good portion of her English homework, and some of her science homework. Mama had called and said she was on a trip for a month, and Kagura called in also to confirm the story, and to make sure everything was straightened out; whatever that exactly meant, Kagome still hadn't figured it out when she'd called this morning.

While still in the city, the buildings had become less clumped as they traveled along. Kagome was able to see some more trees, but not nearly as many as at Kaede's house, which was to the north and the estate was to the east. Tokyo seemed to be tapering off, and Kagome turned to look out the other window, which greeted her with a wide stretch of water, sparkling up at her. "We're by the ocean…"

Inuyasha's attention diverted from _Iron Chef_ to the girl. "Yeah. The house is supposed to be up a little farther. It's on a peninsula or something. We're going to be looking at the ocean for a while, Kagome."

She nodded. "I guess we must have already passed the fishing district. This must be the commercial area."

Shrugging, "Probably."

Kagome leaned back into the leather of her seat. She gazed briefly over to the hanyou beside her before turning to watch the last ten minutes of the cooking show.

It was when the Iron Chef clad in purple had been declared the winner that the limo made a slight upward climb. When the pair glimpsed from the TV to the window, they spotted a villa that could easily rival Sesshoumaru's city mansion at the top of the smooth path.

"Master Inuyasha," the chauffer said, as the tinted glass that separated him from his passengers rolled down, "welcome to your home."

When the limousine came to a smooth, level stop, Kagome and Inuyasha exited from opposite doors. The hanyou emerged closest to the seaside villa. His eyes panned upwards, taking in the home's exorbitant stature and the columns that lined the wide front portico—three on each side of the entrance. Like Sesshoumaru's, it was a shade of white, though a softer hue, like the color of the white sand beaches.

There was a beautifully manicured front lawn ahead, and when Inuyasha glanced back down the slope, he noticed the shockingly silver arched gates that closed off the entrance border of the property; he must have been too involved with _Iron Chef_ to notice.

Inuyasha smelled the slightly balmy sea breeze that teased past. Vaguely, over the descent of the other side of the plain, he could spot the pale foam that broke against the large rocks that dotted along the light blue-green waters that lead to an almost indigo ocean. "Is this…_really_ all mine…?" he asked in disbelief as another breeze, a little cool for the season, brushed his features. Servants had begun to line the entryway and two butlers hastened out to retrieve the couple's bags from the still-open doors of the limo.

Kagome approached him, smiling kindly. "It's amazing, isn't it, Inuyasha? This is the home your father left to you. You should be happy."

"…I am…" he admitted, his gaze flickering to her.

"Good."

Giving his fiancée a quick smile before seeing Sesshoumaru descend the porch steps, Inuyasha tilted his mouth into a smirk. "So, this is it, Sesshoumaru? Are we getting the grand tour right now?"

"Inuyasha," his brother said dryly as he neared, "it would be best if you walked through the estate and got a feel for it. The servants will carry your bags, along with Kagome's, up to your rooms."

"Sounds good."

With a wave of his hand, Sesshoumaru turned to enter the villa, the other two in tow.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome could not get over how beautiful the entire stretch of the villa was. It was a very brief tour, but it didn't surprise the girl considering Sesshoumaru was their guide. She got to see the spacious kitchen, various entertainment rooms, a gorgeous dining hall, several bedrooms—some of which belonged to the servants--, and many other rooms that she just couldn't keep track of. All of it was stunning, and with its high-ceilings, Kagome felt like a commoner in the emperor's court—insignificantly small.

She got a peek at her own room, which seemed just as welcoming and refined as many of the others. Vague light from behind the gossamer curtains entered the room, giving it an enchanted feel. Inuyasha's room was just as tasteful.

However, what made her solidly decide that she was going to explore the entire villa were the short glimpses of the ocean lapping along the strip of beach, which it turned out Inuyasha now owned. So, when Sesshoumaru glided off, Kagome began trekking down the polished wood floors with an enormous smile on her face.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Inuyasha, turning away from his inspection of the attic's trapdoor at the end of the hall.

"Down to the beach," Kagome merrily replied. "It looks really pretty."

Shrugging, Inuyasha moved his attention, with a tilt of his head, back to scrutinizing the overhead passage. "I wanna know what's up there." His expression became absolutely wondering as he reached a hand out to the string and gave it a sharp yank. With a sigh and a puff of smoke, the honey-stained panel rocked down to the floor.

Curious as well, Kagome returned to her fiancé's side. "Well, we'll never know if we don't look."

"'We'?" he echoed back. "I thought you were going to the beach."

"I was," simply said the girl as she tentatively set a foot on one of the stairs. Finding it would hold her weight, Kagome began to climb up. "But, I'd actually have to walk to the beach and this mystery is right here. Why pass it up?"

Inuyasha shook his head as his fiancée flashed a bubbly smile at him. "One day, Kagome, that nosiness of yours is really going to get you in trouble." He started to follow her up.

"I'm not nosy," she protested. "If anyone's nosy, it's you. Besides, you're going to make sure I don't get into trouble, right?"

"Hmph. Of course."

Reaching the attic, Inuyasha and Kagome were greeted by a flurry of dust, which made the hanyou cough and sneeze until his eyes watered. He accepted the handkerchief the girl handed him and promptly covered his sensitive nose and mouth with it, muttering oaths beneath his breath, when he could spare it.

Besides the obvious thickness of dust, which told the pair that the last time someone had entered this attic, it had been quite a while ago, there were numerous trunks, furniture, and various trinkets littering the floor. More tinted light unobtrusively sifted into the room through the yellowing, moth-eaten curtain that covered a large rectangular window and faded its familiar patch of wood a little more.

Near to the window was an aged rocking chair, which Inuyasha neared, lowering the handkerchief from his mouth. His face was carved softly by a memory that Kagome did not know, and her heart ached to discover what he was thinking of when he lifted the beautifully decorated blanket from the back of it and sat down.

Carefully gliding over to him, Kagome saw the tender shade of gold in his eyes. It was so sorrowful and wistful, not at all like the molten gaze full of defiance and tenacity that she was so used to looking into. She at first reached out to him, and thought better of it and retreated. Instead, her own eyes were drawn to the faded, but not forgotten, love that came from every corner of the room.

As the sound of the rain tinkled like bell chimes off the outside molding of the villa and Inuyasha sighed softly, holding the coverlet closer, it dawned on Kagome. _He's thinking of his mother…_

It made sense. Maybe Inuyasha didn't remember this attic room, and had unwittingly come up. Or maybe he did know. Kagome was not sure which. She was somehow certain that this place must have been special to her betrothed and his mother.

She was even willing to guess so far that the blanket he now had in his possession was the one Setsuna covered him with before rocking his small body back and forth into sleep in the very same rocking chair that he could occupy completely on his own. Inuyasha had lost his mother at a young age, and Kagome held no doubts of how hard and bewildering it was for him to truly realize how much time had passed; he had been small enough for Setsuna to lift into her arms or sit upon her lap as they rocked to and fro, perhaps reading a fairytale to him before bed.

Maybe this had been his room as a child and had now been converted to storage—long stowed away and neglected, much like his short-cut childhood. _It must be so hard for him…_ thought Kagome, chewing her lip slightly. She found her gaze on him. Inuyasha's countenance was cast into a dreary silhouette. _I'll bet the last time he sat there, he couldn't even sit in it without sliding off, and his feet couldn't touch the ground…_

The rain outside chimed a bit faster.

"You ever feel like you're trapped living a dream, Kagome?"

Startled by his abruptness, albeit his voice was calm and gentle, the girl looked to him in surprise. "Inuyasha…?"

"Heh." The half-demon glanced down to the red fabric wrinkled in his lap. One claw delicately traced the circles where the sun had faded it to a hue of rose. "I know it was a long time ago, but I can't help thinking about my mother and how much I wish she was still alive. She'd be at least seventy or so now. She was really young when she married my old man. I remember her best…Mother was always there. Dad was usually doing business, the same kind of bullshit Sesshoumaru does now, but he still managed to give me some good memories from when he did play with me."

Kagome closed her eyes as she felt tears begin to brim her lashes. _And now they're gone…_

"I feel like I'm living a dream. Coming here…it's like something from a dream I haven't dreamt in a long time, but kind of a dream that's there all the time." He finally lifted his eyes from the blanket to Kagome. "Does that make sense?"

With a nod, she answered, "It does. Was this your bedroom?" The girl had yet to open her eyes, and had tilted her face toward the ground—she didn't quite trust herself to not start crying out of sheer vicarious sorrow.

"Sort of." He could scarcely make out her visage, and looked to the window. "It was kind of like my playroom. I didn't recognize the rest of the house at first. My memory was pretty fuzzy. But, I remembered this place really well. Probably because it was the only place I spent so much time in as I did outdoors."

"So you grew up by the ocean?"

"For a while. I lived in the mansion in Tokyo for a while, too." His dog ears tipped in the direction of his fiancée at her soft sniffle. Inuyasha peered at her again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answered.

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit, Kagome. Now tell me what's wrong."

Kagome laughed lightly before opening her eyes. The tears had subsided, yet a faint trace coated her lashes. Smiling quietly, Kagome walked over to Inuyasha and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and rested her head in the crook of his neck. She felt his body tense up a little. "Inuyasha, I wish there was more I could do for you."

Inuyasha remained still for a moment, before gawkily moving his arm around her back and giving her a little squeeze. _You've done more for me, Kagome, than you could ever realize._ "I still have other dreams…" he whispered, holding her a tad closer. "I just don't know if they're really reachable…if I deserve them."

"You can achieve anything," Kagome murmured in return. "And if anyone deserves their dreams to come true, it's you."

Inuyasha went quiet for a moment, simply breathing the herbal scent of her hair before saying, "You wanted to see the beach, didn't you?"

Pulling far enough away to see his face, Kagome nodded. "Yeah. But it's raining."

A smirk crossed Inuyasha's lips, but it wasn't arrogant or devious, it was more mischievous. "So?" Somewhat reluctantly moving from the circle of his fiancée's embrace, the hanyou's smirk widened as an idea struck him. He rose from the rocking chair and set the worn blanket on the back of it again. He went to the window, drew the curtain aside, and opened the window. Rain perfumed the air and it wafted in on the cool wind into the musky room. "Come on, Kagome."

"What? You're not suggesting we go outside in the rain, are you?"

He grinned. "Why not? A little rain's not gonna hurt us. Come on." Ignoring her started sound of protest, Inuyasha snagged Kagome about the waist and leapt out the window. Her arms wrapped firmly around his neck as they dropped three stories through the rainfall until landing on the soft sandy beach.

"Inuyasha, we're gonna get wet!" exclaimed Kagome as the real downpour started.

"So?" he chuckled. "It's not that bad, is it? Didn't you ever play in the rain as a kid?"

"Of course I did," she countered as the rain dampened her raven hair while the wind teased it about. Kagome tried to frown, but at the joyous, genuine smile on Inuyasha's face, she didn't have the heart to do anything else but grin in return. "Have you ever danced in the rain?" she asked softly.

"I don't think so."

"Well, come on then." Kagome tramped up to Inuyasha and took one of his hands in hers and placed the other on her waist while moving her remaining one up to his shoulder. "It's not that hard. I'll lead this time."

Taking a gliding step rearward, the girl maneuvered the blushing half-demon to do the same. She smiled as she moved him around in a slow box-step with the ocean licking at their shoes, and the elements descending from the heavens fell upon them.

Inuyasha pulled her closer as he got the hang of their waltz. Everything felt simple and clean when he was with Kagome. It felt like the rain was washing away all the iniquities of his life.

They became a little more courageous and tried spiraling around, only to fall into short bouts of laughter and return to their box-step. Kagome leaned against Inuyasha's chest when he pulled her nearer. _Maybe you're right, Kagome,_ he thought, resting a cheek atop her head. _Maybe some dreams do come true, and that there are some worth living…but, they're only worth having if you're there… Like now…_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Repeat after me: writer's block sucks. I was stumped for a while how I wanted to get this chapter across, so after many songs and debates/fights with my muses, I came to this. Or, more like Kagome and Inuyasha came to this. There was something else I was going to say… Oh! Michelle Latta drew another fan art, and you can find the link to it on my bio page, or on my live journal (moonlightmiko). My mom wasn't feeling well, so had to proofread by myself again. Junior year in high school is supposedly the toughest year, so sorry if I'm not updating quite as fast. I'm not really all that pleased about it either, but I doubt any of you would appreciate a chapter with little effort.

Moonlight Shadow


	30. Dance Lessons and Sewing Pins

A/N: Wow…Chapter 30? I'm surprised to be honest. Over 1300 reviews…? Man oh man. Well, don't worry--the fun's not over yet. We still have some things to cover.

Sorry for the delay. School eats up a lot of my time, and recently my muse has had a terrible cold. Poor guy. (Yes, my muse is male. Well one of them anyway.) I claim ownership of the word "spazmatic". Meh.

_Chapter Thirty:__ Dance Lessons and Sewing Pins_

"No, no, no, Inuyasha," sighed Miroku, turning the CD player off which caused the dancers to pause. He stepped over to the half-demon and Sango in the middle of the ballroom, still in perfect, _unmoving_ form. "You're still getting it wrong. I don't understand how you could possibly be so bad at dancing."

Inuyasha harrumphed while Sango nodded. "I have to agree with Miroku on this one. Your footwork is so amazing when you're fighting, but now when it comes to waltzing, it's like you have two left feet."

"I'm not _that_ bad," he protested.

"Tell that to _my_ feet…" Sango winced slightly as she glimpsed down to her tennis shoes. "…I don't think I have any feeling left in my right toe…" She was suddenly extremely glad that they were allowed to where shoes when practicing.

"Stop your complaining, would you?" Blushing, the hanyou took hold of his dance partner's hand. "Let's just try it again, all right?"

Sango looked at Miroku who simply sighed once more and tramped back over to the CD player and hit the play button, filling the grand ballroom with the recorded sounds of the Tokyo Philharmonic. The monk watched as the inevitable played out—or in this case, waltzed out—as it had for the past two weeks: Inuyasha and Sango would start out nicely, but about thirty seconds later the hanyou was making growls of concentration while the girl flinched a bit every time Inuyasha trod on her feet.

Miroku rubbed at his temple. If he told Inuyasha to do an individual position with Sango, the boy would do so beautifully, but as soon as he was asked to string them all together, it was like he forgot how to function correctly. _When Inuyasha's fighting, all of his energy is focused onto that one prospect of beating his opponent, so they have his attention,_ Miroku thought, internally cringing for Sango's sake as said half-demon crunched her toes again. _He spends more time staring at his own missteps than looking his partner in the eyes. How many times have I told him how important it is to keep eye contact? She is supposed to have his attention, not his shoes._

"Inuyasha, just this time let me lead and show you how to do this correctly," insisted Sango.

He snapped, "No. It's just a box-step. I should be able to at least do a fucking box-step."

"Yes, yes," she said with a roll of her eyes, "that's what you keep telling us."

"I can do it!"

Frowning slightly, Sango watched her partner's face. Ever since she and Miroku had begun teaching him and Kagome dance lessons, he had insisted that he could at least box-step, but every time he tried with her, it seemed as if he choked up. It looked like he was trying to remember something, recreate something that Sango had no clue about.

Kagome was an excellent dancer, so Miroku had lucked out and had no trouble with her. Most times, she would skip out of lessons so she could focus on her schoolwork. Today she was seated over by the large glass doors that led out to the parapet and from there to the seashore.

Ever so often Sango would see her friend's head of black hair bob up from her textbook to giggle at her predicament. _She wouldn't be laughing if she was dancing with him…._ A smile slipped across her face as an idea came to her mind; just as quickly it turned to a grimace when Inuyasha tramped on her feet once more.

Finally, the song ended, and Sango quickly pulled away from Inuyasha---who stood huffing with his arms crossed tightly over his chest—and called, "Hey, Kagome."

The girl peered up from her book to her friend. "Hmm?"

"Kagome," walking over to the younger girl, "how about you dance with Inuyasha? He's your fiancé after all."

"But I thought you were practicing with him."

"My feet are tired. Come on, Kagome." Sango reached out and grasped the girl's arms and hauled her to her feet. "He's going to be dancing with you at the ball. He's your date."

Her face flushed and her textbook fell to the ground. "W-well…" she stammered as she was brought over to her frustrated fiancé. Inuyasha looked to her with slight annoyance, and Kagome only smiled to counter his scowl. "I _guess_ that makes sense. I probably should have been practicing with Inuyasha from the beginning."

Miroku grinned lopsidedly as he shrugged. "Sesshoumaru hinted that it would probably be for the best to teach you two apart from each other. The last thing we needed was you two to start bickering over nothing."

"Keh, whatever," mumbled Inuyasha, taking Kagome's hand in his and placing the other on her waist. "Let's just get started, ok, Miroku?"

Nodding once, Miroku turned the music back on. A soothing ballad floated into the room and the pair started to move.

They started off a little unsteady at first. Inuyasha kept bumping into his fiancée and his face continued to glow pink.

Kagome frowned slightly as Inuyasha stared down at his feet. His body was tense; she could feel his shoulder muscles tightly coiled beneath her palm. "Relax, Inuyasha. It's just me. Come on, look me in the eyes." The half-demon grumbled something under his breath. But, she didn't give up. "You're supposed to look your partner in the eyes when you waltz, so come on. Just pretend Sango and Miroku aren't here. Just pretend it's you and me…like before…" she added, her voice just above a whisper.

Finally, as the music slid into a soft, gradual retard, Inuyasha's gaze met Kagome's. The pair lingered at a stand-still as the trembling violin chord faded into an inaudible range. Wordlessly, as the majestically growing cello solo began, the couple started to gracefully float along the marble floor, twisting and spinning with natural ease, their eyes entranced with and never leaving the other.

The villa's ballroom slipped away, and they were left in their own world of soft hues that melted together, listening to the sounds of utopia that the passionately dark cello thrummed.

Inuyasha squeezed Kagome's hand slightly, and she gave his one as well. He dipped her a little, and she trusted him fully as she leaned back, yet never allowed their eye contact to break. It was then, as he righted Kagome, and they started swirl around once more, that Inuyasha's heart suddenly felt very full as the beats sped up.

The longer he looked into her blue-grey eyes, the more adrift his mind became by their shimmering warmth. Strange sensations tingled throughout his entire body and it confused the half-demon greatly. Lucidness overtook his mind, yet Inuyasha didn't possess enough foresight to identify exactly what the emotion that was blossoming strongly in his heart. So when the music finally died completely away, he quickly pulled away from Kagome and ripped his gaze clear of hers only to refocus it back onto his shoes as the realm of indistinct colors and objects were reborn into the décor of the ballroom.

The sound of clapping hands reached the hanyou's ears, which twitched slightly at the noise. "Wonderful job, Inuyasha," congratulated Miroku, walking towards them. "I think you will be fine as long as you are with Kagome."

_As long as I'm with Kagome…?_ thought Inuyasha. His insides shuddered and his heart hastened again. "Then we're finished," he mumbled shortly while he just as curtly spun on his heel and strode swiftly out of the vast room. He only looked up once from the floor as he rounded the corner to see Kagome's confused and slightly hurt face.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inuyasha sat cross-legged upon his large bed, staring up at the ceiling of his immaculate bedchamber. Tetsusaiga lay across his knees; there was no way he was going to leave it at home with the Higurashis. He slowly drew the blade from its scabbard and ran a calloused fingertip over the flat of his katana. _What's wrong with me, Tetsusaiga? Why did I suddenly feel so…lost? It was like something out of a dream… _

Easing his back against his large stack of goose-feather pillows, to which he'd grown quite fond of over the last two weeks, the half-demon closed his eyes. _The whole time I was trying to dance with Sango…I kept trying to remember what it was like to dance with Kagome. It's been the first in weeks since she and I danced together in the rain…and I guess I just wanted that feeling again… I wanted to be close to her, and looking into her eyes made me feel something I've never felt before. I never felt that way for Kikyou…. _

With a sigh, he expertly twisted his wrist with Tetsusaiga in grasp and flipped it once in the air, only to catch it by the hilt again. "I swore I'd protect Kagome and her family…forever…." His gaze was drawn down to his blade and then out to the bay window. _It's true. I'd never want anything to happen to Kagome… I…_

_I care for her…_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome lay on her stomach on the bed, her school books stacked neatly on the writing table in her room. The curtains were drawn apart slightly, allowing a yawn of sunshine to warmly light the space. Her hair fell in tendrils about her face rather than the waves it had before—apparently the salt air was affecting her hair just as much as her head.

Her mind was allowed to wander to Inuyasha. Their dance together had proved to be the most lucid connection they had possessed thus far, and it made the string of fate that bound the two of them stronger. While it had hurt her feelings that he had left so abruptly, Kagome had learned that was just Inuyasha's way when he was faced with something that would be emotional, and did her best to just take like a grain of salt.

Despite his nature, he _had_ come a long way since she had first gotten to know his hanyou form. Kagome had admitted to herself that she didn't mind any more. She was certain he would soften up a little more over the years, and marrying him would definitely give her the time to get him to be a bit more affectionate. Kagome smiled to herself; spending the rest of her life with Inuyasha suddenly didn't sound as outlandish as it had before. To be honest, she was looking forward to her sixteenth birthday.

_Then I'll be old enough to marry, _she thought before blushing and waggling her head. "I really never thought things would quite turn out this way. I love being with him…even if he is a jerk sometimes, Inuyasha has a good heart." Kagome laughed gently.

She had always planned on marrying for love, but that was before she found out about the engagement and when Grampa had told her, she had bawled, saying that she wasn't going to marry a half-demon, even if they did age slower; she had screamed she wasn't going to marry someone she didn't want to…. Strange that Inuyasha seemed to pacify those more tender notions now as well. The thought made her turn a little redder.

"And I used to think the mystery man I was engaged to was gonna be a really cruel guy…" Her laughter faded and a pensive furrow crossed her brow.

There was still the matter of Naraku. While he wasn't after Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga anymore, it was obvious he was still very enamored with the Shikon no Tama. It had to have been destiny playing a major hand in this—that out of all the possible dogs, she picks the only enchanted one that was her ignorant fiancé, which lead her to an even more worrisome state over a magical ball that no one really knew anything about, with the exception of his mother.

_"The Shikon no Tama is to be kept out of evil's hands. One fragment of power ripped from his grasp will fell him completely. That one piece can lead to either triumph or defeat."_

That was what Setsuna had said, wasn't it? A single piece from the Shikon—a shard of Kagome's destiny—a fragment of her life…Kagome sighed, fully aware of the foreshadowing and situational irony that loved to dominate her existence, and had dictated it since before she was even conceived.

She lifted the glowing magenta bead from where it laid on the light blue comforter and brought it up to her eyes. _A single shard will fell him…_ Sitting on her knees, Kagome stared intently at the powerful orb betwixt her fingertips. _A single piece…_

It looked like some kind of glass. Glass can crack. Following that notion, the girl rapped it against the metal bed frame—one time softly and another with as much strength as she could muster. She frowned at the perfect sphere that glowed up at her. "Well, that didn't work. I'll have to try something else…."

Sliding off the bed, one leg at a time, Kagome mused, as she stepped over to the writing table, _Mikos can channel their energy into objects…like how I can activate a sutra or an ofuda… Grampa said I could use my miko energy for both offensive and defensive purposes like the ones in history did._

Her gaze slid over the writing table— across her Trigonometry book, the collection of pens and pencils, the stationary paper, until finally lingering on the silver letter opener tucked safely in its sleeve. Pensive-faced, Kagome removed it, having never used it in her time at the villa thus far, always resorting to using her finger to slit open the envelopes that contained letters from her family. The letter opener was shaped into a thin dagger, the blade about as long as the length from the bottom of her palm to the tip of her middle finger. It looked quite sharp.

Kagome set it down and removed the necklace bearing the Shikon no Tama from around her neck. Laying the Shikon no Tama on the table also, she gripped the chain close to the jewel's curve. Kagome snatched the letter opener in her right hand, poising the point just above the smooth surface of the Shikon.

She closed her eyes, saying a prayer to herself. "Please let this work." She focused all of her energy into her right hand, and then tried to coax it into the letter opener; it began to feel like an extension of her hand as it pulsed with slight warmth. Kagome raised the letter opener a little higher.

Sensing the tendrils of energy from the Shikon no Tama, she concentrated her miko power to connect with it as she brought the sharp point of the letter opener down towards the jewel. With a heavy heave of breath, Kagome felt the letter opener strike the hard, rounded surface. There was a faint ringing following after a short crack.

Opening her eyes, Kagome saw a sliver glistering iridescent pink lying atop the cherry wood writing table. She slipped the Shikon no Tama around her neck once more—making certain to have the missing section face her—before taking the fragment between her thumb and forefinger. It continued to softly chime. Stuffing it into her pocket, she intoned, "I should probably find a place to hide this." Crossing over to the dresser, she pulled out Inuyasha's old dog collar from the top drawer.

Even though Inuyasha didn't have to wear the stupid thing any more, Kagome held onto it just in case. She reasoned it might come in handy again, like it did when she had to carry him back to the shrine on New Years, though now Kagome had a different idea.

She returned to the writing desk, stretched out the scaly band, and used the letter opener again to cut a small slit near the center of it. "Perfect." Withdrawing the Shikon shard from her pocket, Kagome started to carefully inch it into the collar. She had almost had it all the way in, wiggling it slightly, until it wouldn't budge.

She pressed her thumb on top of the incision where the last bit of the Shikon shard poked out and began to shove it deeper; however, when Kagome gave it one final thrust, a brusque jab connected with her thumb that made her hiss in pain.

Pulling her hand away, the girl saw a globule of blood forming on her light skin. Tears teased at her eyes, and Kagome blinked them away as she promptly stuck her thumb in her mouth. _That really smarted…_

Even so, she toted the collar back to the top drawer of the dresser and hid it beneath a pair of socks. _Not bad, girl, _she congratulated herself just as someone promptly rapped on the door.

Toddling over to the door, Kagome yanked it open. "'ey 'ango!" she greeted her friend around her injured digit.

Sango smiled. "Hey, Kagome. Did you cut your thumb?" She simply smiled more as her best friend nodded.

Kagome popped it out of her mouth and wiped it on her light blue skirt, while sheepishly grinning. "Yeah. How are you doing, Sango?"

"Just fine," she replied, coming into the room while Kagome shut the door after her. "I hope you don't mind practicing with Inuyasha the rest of the time. I don't think my feet can take it." Sango inadvertently glanced at her slipper-clad feet.

"No problem. You're coming to the ball, too, right?"

"Of course. Sesshoumaru is keeping quite of a few of his operatives close at hand."

The younger girl grinned. "So, do you have a date, Sango?"

Sango spluttered. "No!" She watched as her friend gave her a mischievous wink. "Kagome, you'd better not be planning something."

Kagome didn't reply as she went over to her assignment notebook and began flipping to the back page. "But, Miroku's gonna be there, right?"

"Well, yes…. Kagome, don't you even dare!" said Sango, hastily coming over to the girl.

"Do what?"

"Think of getting me to go with Miroku. He's a friend, not a love interest," she huffed.

"Oh really?" intoned Kagome as her fingers withdrew a photo strip from the pocket of her notebook. "Sango, I doubt your feelings have changed since then," she insisted waving the incriminating pictures from the photo booth in front of her best friend's face. Kagome grinned more as Sango turned a few shades red when her eyes trailed down to the last snapshot of them kissing. "Miroku really does care about you. You really care about him. It's just a little date for the ball. It won't be bad, I mean it, Sango."

"Kagome," Sango swallowed, "where did you get those…?"

"Oh, these? I got them when you two were in the photo booth when we were Christmas shopping." Kagome artfully moved out the way with a laugh as Sango lunged for them. "I'll gladly give you them if you just go to the ball with Miroku. It'll be better than going alone. Otherwise, I could have a lot of fun with these if you decline."

Sango frowned slightly. She knew when she'd been cornered. "Are you blackmailing me, Kagome?"

The girl nodded with a smile.

"You've really been hanging around Miroku too much—you're learning all his swindling habits…." Sighing, Sango blew out her cheeks as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Finally, she waved her hands in the air. "All right, all right—you have a deal."

"Great!" bubbled Kagome. "I'm sure Miroku will be thrilled you agreed."

"Wait—did he know about this?"

"Well, he _did_ want me to convince to go with him," she replied.

Sango made a slight growl. "That conniving, little ass…."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week of teaching Inuyasha to waltz hadn't been as horrendous as Sango had made it out to be—or has horrendous as it had been for her. While her fiancé had seemed a little out of it at times, Kagome figured he was just tired. There was a lot for him to deal, what with inheriting a fortune, probably unmentioned duties; the matter of Naraku and the Shikon no Tama….

Now that Kagome thought about it, she was feeling a little tired herself.

She stifled a yawn as the seamstress fitted her dress, making little noises of acknowledgement in the back of her throat. Fluttering her eyelids open, Kagome peered lazily into the mirror ahead of her. She thought she looked a little silly, standing there on a round, padded pedestal with her arms outstretched to the sides. _It looks like I'm going to take flight…_ she mused dryly. __

The silk of the gently billowing skirt of the ball gown was gathered to the right by the woman's nimble hands. Kagome glanced down with fascination as the fabric was expertly pinned up by her hip, leaving only the white petticoat to cover her legs, down to the ankles. The seamstress was young, maybe six or seven years older than her at most. Despite the seamstress obvious youth, she went about her work with an air of professionalism and a slight smile on her face whenever she had the sewing pins out from betwixt her teeth to ask how the dress fit.

Kagome smiled again. The feel of such expensive fabric was wonderful, though she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by the richness of it. She had been so pampered so far—she'd never had a seamstress custom make a dress for her before.

The young seamstress secured the last section of fabric with her remaining sewing pin. She rose to her feet, absently brushing back a tendril of dark brown hair that had come free of its upsweep. "Is that too tight?"

"No," Kagome replied. "But, could I lower my arms now?"

The woman smiled. "Of course--if you're comfortable in the dress now, sure. Just be careful of those pins—they could stick you."

Kagome smiled gratefully as she relaxed her arms. "Thanks."

"No problem. Here." She extended a hand. "Let me help you down so you can stretch your legs a little. I'm not a total slave driver."

Taking it, Kagome hopped off the pedestal, noticing the two bands on the seamstress's ring finger. "You're married?" she asked, a little surprised.

"Hmm? Oh yes." The woman drew her hand away in favor to remove her black rectangular eyeglasses. She grinned a little more as a sparkle danced in her chocolate brown eyes. "I've been married for about two years now."

"Wow—what's it like?"

The woman paused to ponder before laughing, "It's great. You're going to marry Tanaka Inuyasha, aren't you?"

Kagome blushed a little, her gaze darting to the ground as she gingerly sat her rump on the pedestal and stretched her legs fore her. "Yes… Oh, by the way, I'm Kagome," she quickly said, suddenly remembering her manners, and suddenly feeling equally sheepish; this woman had been working on her dress since she had come to the villa, and she had never once introduced herself. She had to still so long for the most part, so it wasn't a wonder she had never actually spoken to the woman.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kagome. I'm Mia." Pulling up one of the rolling chairs, Mia delicately sat down, resting her palms on her knees. "You seem kind of nervous about the marriage thing. Then again, I'm not surprised. You are awful young. My husband and I aren't exactly old, and weren't when we first talked about tying the knot."

"How old are you?" asked Kagome before quickly shutting her mouth. She mentally berated herself; etiquette lessons or not, her mother had taught her well enough not to bluntly asked questions like that. Maybe over the months Inuyasha's bad manners were rubbing off on her…. Her expression horrified, Kagome started to apologize only to stop at the sound of Mia's light laughter.

"Don't look so freaked out. I'm twenty-three." So Kagome's guess had been close, only a year off. Mia set her glasses atop her head like a pair of sunglasses and grinned. "If it makes you feel any better, my husband is also a dog hanyou."

"Really?" As giddy by the idea of marrying Inuyasha as she was, there were still a lot of worries and uncertainties flittering throughout her mind. There was a spark of kinship, and Kagome hoped that maybe Mia could help her out a little as a wife of a dog hanyou to a future one. "What's he like? Is he nice? How long have known him?" All right, so she was more than a little fretful.

"My husband? Well, I've known him since I was in elementary school. He's sweet, kind, an idiot, loyal, spazmatic, hot-tempered, loving," Mia rattled off, her nose scrunching up in concentration. "He's basically a little bit of everything. Some days I love him to bits and pieces, and some days I just want to beat his head in until it's just bits and pieces that remain."

Kagome giggled into her hand. "That sounds a lot like Inuyasha. Though--'spazmatic'?"

"Oh, heh," Mia turned a pinkish over the bridge of her nose, lighting her fair skin, "sorry. Some habits from when we still lived in the United States. It's just a made-up word. He just has a tendency to befuddle himself and get worked over nothing, but I assure you, it's not as bad any more, Kagome."

The girl snickered some more. She loved the way Mia easily inserted insults—or traits that were most probably true of her husband—without worrying about it. "You sound like you have a great relationship."

"Oh we do. Without him, my life wouldn't be nearly so much fun. He's the one who taught me Japanese. He started learning in high school and I was taking Spanish…"

"So you traded information?" asked Kagome, eyes alight with interest.

"Quite often. I've met Inuyasha. Quite a bother to get to stay still when trying to measure him for his suit." Mia shook her head. "Inuyasha's a lot like my husband when he was that age, only I could always coax him to come off of whatever was getting his dander up. It takes a little more coaxing on my part to get Inuyasha to calm down, but maybe he just settles down for you, hmm?" Mia's brown eyes sparkled as she twirled her wedding ring and engagement ring around her finger.

"Wh-what makes you say that?" stuttered Kagome quietly, looking away from the seamstress and to the painting of flowers hanging on the wall, no doubt done by Kagura.

"Let's just say I know dog demons. Besides, Inuyasha mumbled things about you when he thought I couldn't hear."

Kagome's head snapped towards Mia. "H-he did?"

Mia nodded as she stood up and stretched. "Uh-huh."

The girl's heart sped up slightly. "What did he say…?"

Musing for a second, Mia finally answered as she picked up her measuring tape and threw it over her shoulders, "Just a lot of questions he wanted answers too."

"Oh…" Kagome's heart calmed a bit. It hadn't been exactly what she'd been looking for. Then again, she wasn't exactly sure what she _was _looking for.

A pause ensued until Mia smirked quietly. "He also said you're a great dancer." She made a chuckle in the back of her throat at the stunned look on Kagome's face. "But, he said that one aloud."

Another smile crossed Kagome's face. It was simple praise that she hadn't even heard, but even so, it made her feel content. "I don't often get compliments from him," she admitted quietly, still smiling. "Does your husband give you compliments a lot?"

Mia shrugged slightly, reaching over and sipping from the bottle of lemonade. "Depends," she replied, screwing the cap tightly on again before setting the bottle back beside her bag. "He gives me more praise than your fiancé does, not to say he doesn't mercilessly pick on me, but he's more of a romantic in nature. Regardless," she added on teasingly, moving her glasses to sit on her nose again, "if he doesn't appreciate the fact I've been picking up and washing his dirty clothes soon, he's going to find himself sleeping among them for a while."

Kagome giggled. "I hope Inuyasha and I can get along like that."

"You can, Kagome. "

"I'm just worried it's not going to be like a real marriage because this was arranged…."

Nodding, Mia patted Kagome's head once in a sisterly fashion. "You just have to work at it. It takes understanding, communication, respect and love—lots of love. You two seem to get along well. You can't honestly tell me, Kagome, that you don't feel that way for Inuyasha, and vice versa." Mia smiled as Kagome blushed again. "Now then, I have to return to slave driver mode, and see if everything's adjusted just right so I can get to the final stitch."

Sighing slightly, Kagome got up, and with Mia's help, stood atop the pedestal cushion again. The young seamstress went back to work, and, gripping the Shikon no Tama once for assurance, Kagome felt a bit more certain about things, that all would be all right by the end. Somehow, she knew she could trust Mia's word.

_She was right about my feelings too… She knows a lot for being pretty young…._ Spreading her arms out once more, like an eagle about to take flight, Kagome inquired, "Hey, Mia?"

"Yeah, kiddo?" her voice floated up from somewhere by her feet accompanied by a few soft tugs on the skirt.

"Does your husband have dog ears?"

"Blond ones. But his father taught him a special trick to disguising them, so he looks human most of the time. Why, I don't know."

Kagome smiled. "I like Inuyasha's ears."

"Me too," agreed Mia with a wistful sigh. "Now if only I could get my idiot husband to keep his like that all the time."

"Why doesn't he?"

"He says that it's too easy to get junk in them…and," she added guiltily," that I play with them all the time."

Kagome laughed. "It's all about the ears, isn't it?"

"Don't be naïve, Kagome," playfully chided Mia. "Of course it's about the ears."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Well, I know it took me a while to finish, but I sincerely hoped you enjoyed. We're not done yet, don't fret! I'm still very busy, but I will try to get the chapters out when I can. My muses are better, of which Mia is mine and you cannot have. Steal her, and I will be forced to hurt you. Anyway, next chapter is plotted in my head. It's a matter of time. Seriously.

Moonlight Shadow


	31. Getting Groomed

Disclaimer: I own Mia and Sage. Hahahaha—they are mine. I don't care if your name is the same, they're mine. If we get technical, there's a movie with my name on it. Oh? Inuyasha? I don't own him. Drat.

A/N: Been nominated for quite a few things in the Inuyasha Fan Guild. Can we say a very giddy Moonlight? In any case, you'll find out who Sage is soon enough. If you read "The Mysterious Little Visitor" and read the author's notes, you have a leg up on guessing. If not, well, you're going to see soon.

_Chapter Thirty-One: __Getting Groomed_

"For the love of God," Mia sighed, exasperatedly pushing a tendril of dark brown behind her ear, "will you hold still, Inuyasha?"

"I feel ridiculous!" the half-demon snapped back, sending a molten glare at her to which she sent her own smoldering brown in return. Inuyasha tugged on his tuxedo jacket before waving his arms back and forth, then working them in irritated circles. "Look at me—I look like a fool!"

"Actually, I thought you looked quite dashing, but when you swing your arms around like that, you really do look like a complete dope," dryly responded the seamstress.

"Keh."

"And that attitude isn't helping any."

"Bite off."

Mia dug through her bag, searching for a spool of thread to tighten one of the buttons on the jacket. "I'd rather not, Inuyasha." She threaded the needle, saying, "I am a married woman."

Inuyasha stared at her through the reflection of the three-way full-length mirrors, getting to see his blush from all angles as her allusion sunk in. "That's not what I meant, you—"

"Please. Spare me." Mia rolled her eyes. She held out her arm, and he slipped off the coat with a snort. Sitting down in one of the chairs, she started on mending the loose button. "Honestly, Inuyasha—the ball is the night after tomorrow and you're not acting any more refined than when I first met you a month ago."

"So?" He crossed his arms over his chest, reclining against the wall.

"So," she continued on, dexterously moving the needle through the four holes without breaking her rhythm, "if this whole thing is an elaborate set-up on your brother's part of nicely saying, "eat shit and die," then wouldn't it be an even bigger flip-off to be the absolute most charming creature possible?" Mia smiled slyly as she watched Inuyasha do the same; she was talking his language.

"You're right. Heh—I'm gonna hate going through this shit, though."

"Look at it this way: you're just going to do this once, if you're lucky, and definitely not everyday. It gives you another notch on your belt, so-to-speak. Besides," she added, gaze flickering down as she tied off the thread, "you have Kagome behind you, right?"

Inuyasha blinked once. _She's right. I do have Kagome on my side, don't I?_

"No worries than, right?"

"Just that bottom-feeder Naraku."

Mia nodded. "I see. I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's a manipulative coward. A coward is worth nothing—he's simply sneaky, so being vigilant of his craftiness is all you need to worry about. You should focus on Kagome. Behind every great man, Inuyasha, there is a great woman who will push him towards that greatness. Do you understand?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I taught myself to be the way I am. Sure, Kagome's been a help, but I am self-made."

Sighing lightly, Mia smiled. "You'll understand once you've grown up some." Ignoring the hanyou's frown, Mia held out the coat to him. "Try this on now, and try not to fidget too much."

With a groan, Inuyasha shrugged it back on. "No offense, Mia," he said, having learned her name from their very first encounter when he tried to call her 'bitch' and she cuffed him around the dog ear as she corrected him, "but I really don't like having this thing on. It's just...weird."

"Ah." She nodded again. "My husband is the exact same way. He usually wears his suit coat for half an hour, an hour tops, before he ditches it somewhere. It's an appearance thing. I know Sesshoumaru will have a silent fit about it, but just humor him for an hour or so, then remove it—say you're hot or something—and go about with the red silk shirt."

Inuyasha smirked. "You like to get on Sesshoumaru's nerves, don't you?"

"Well, he shouldn't get on mine," she responded crisply, grinning while adjusting his pant leg and seeing her work's perfection. "Arrogant bastard..." she added beneath her breath.

He chuckled. "Aren't you worried about him firing you or something?"

"Hell no. He wouldn't fire me. I'm too good at what I do." She paused, eyeing Inuyasha intently. "Hmm.... Yup, I'd have to say I definitely like the pants and the shirt together best."

Inuyasha smirked; he and the seamstress saw eye-to-eye, which was probably why it was fun to annoy her most days because she'd pester him right back; like the day he wouldn't hold still for her, she 'accidentally' poked him with the straight pins.

"Are we through?"

"Yup, you're free from bondage. At least from me, anyway." Mia began to gather up her supplies. She dusted the thread cuttings from her black skirt.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, going behind the screen to change.

"Tomorrow Sesshoumaru is going to have you undergo some rigorous preparation for the ball. Make you _look_ refined."

Inuyasha made a sound of distaste. "You mean look absolutely gay."

"Don't say that!" she admonished, to which he chuckled as he slid his green tee-shirt on. "It makes you look nice. My husband isn't a push-over, and he looks very refined."

"Ok, fine. Bisexual, then." He sniggered a little louder as Mia clicked her tongue.

"You're impossible, Tanaka Inuyasha. Not every guy that looks presentable is of that orientation."

"_Right,_" he chuckled, zipping the fly of his jeans.

"Ass," she mumbled. She lapsed into silence for a moment before adding softly, "Tonight's the new moon."

Inuyasha briefly paused from picking up his tuxedo. "So...?" he inquired charily, slowly moving around the side of the screen until he was in full view of Mia.

Mia had the messenger bag with her sewing supplies hanging across her chest, her purse over her shoulder and her sketchbook, with strips of fabric sticking out of it. She peered at him, her brown eyes penetrating. "Inuyasha," she said softly, "from what you've said, it's obvious how much you care about Kagome. _Truly_ care about her."

She paused, yet Inuyasha remained rooted to his spot, totally transfixed by her words. Mia stepped forward only to gently take the tuxedo from him before stepping back.

"Kagome needs you to show her how much you care about her.... How much you love her," she murmured in a voice above a whisper. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. You do know in your heart how deeply your feelings span, and that's something you have to discover on your own; however...I will advise it that you tell her. Don't be afraid to admit it, as scary as it can be, Inuyasha. Don't fall back into an old habit because it's familiar—because it's 'safe'."

His gaze met hers again in quiet understanding before he looked to the ground. Inuyasha didn't know how to respond.

"Just please remember that Kagome is as lost as you are, and I have a feeling life is going to get a little more complicated for the two of you. Trust a little, Inuyasha." Silence reigned for a short eternity. When Inuyasha looked up, Mia was at the door. She stopped to smile kindly at him. "Have a nice night, Inuyasha. Human emotions are a little stronger than a demon's, huh?"

Inuyasha stared at her as, noiselessly, she padded out of the sewing room. The door swished behind her and Inuyasha was left alone. He turned towards the three-way mirror, staring at it for a moment. He lowered his head. "She's right...but how did she know that...?" Closing his eyes, he leaned his forehead against the coolness of the mirror. "How did she figure all that out? I don't think Kagome would snitch on me, and Sesshoumaru has no reason to.... Maybe she has a trick of knowing that my demonic energy is ebbing."

He shook his head slightly, his mind still pondering on Mia's words. The woman herself didn't look like she was planning on bringing him harm. "Human emotions _are_ stronger than demon emotions. Even half-demons can control some of their feelings better...though anger is just a given." Inuyasha paced over to the single window on the other side of room, resting his elbow on the windowsill with his chin in his palm. "Then there are a few assholes in the demon realm that are like Sesshoumaru—they bear the facial expression of a stone wall most of the time and when it does change, it's just sardonic somehow."

In the distance, Inuyasha could see the short pier and just beyond that the rocky bluffs. Creeping vines wound in a web-like array down the bluff-face with peppered blooms of white and pale pink. Rooted in the terra firma was what appeared to be a large weeping willow tree. Its bedraggled vine-like branches drifted half-heartedly in the breeze and loomed ominously over the first couple planks of the dock.

The willow's omniscient mien reminded Inuyasha of the Goshinboku back at the Higurashi shrine. A wave of what could only be described as homesickness washed over him. He hoped that Mama, Souta, the fat fur ball, and the geezer were doing all right.

Below the jut of the pier, the frothy ocean licked at the slope of taupe sand. For the first time in days, Inuyasha's mind was called back to his perfect waltz with Kagome, right on the beach. Maybe Mia's words had struck a chord in his heart and head, or perhaps it was such an enchanting day out, even though the sun had burned low on the horizon, but Inuyasha actually began to think about his actions from that day.

And the more he thought, the more he realized he wanted to see Kagome.

And realizing that sent more confusion into his thoughts until Inuyasha was back to square one of being unbelievably befuddled.

He sighed.

He'd never been good at the whole emotions business.

Not consciously anyway.

And he always attributed his subconscious dealings as fortuitous misfires.

Or was he a shy romantic at heart?

He sighed again.

_Maybe I'll have a better time figuring this out when I'm human,_ he thought before mooching away from the window as the sun surrendered to the velvety blackness of the lunar cycle's newest birth.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome wandered about the vast library, smiling as her eyes wandered from book to book—from the bottom shelf all the way to the domed roof high above, the walls were lined with an endlessly whirl of books. Compare to this, Sesshoumaru's library looked like a corner bookstore.

Padding over to the short spiral staircase, Kagome climbed to the second level. She languidly inspected each tome. Being an avid reader, Kagome could go through up to three books a day. She had finished all of her school work, Sango and Miroku had stopped the dance lessons, saying that, "You two work well together. We're going to focus on the rest of the ball matters and give Sango's feet a chance to heal." There was no more real training to do (though Kagome had laughed herself to tears when Inuyasha was trying to figure out the art of sipping from a champagne flute, proper etiquette, and _polite_ speech in public).

Sniggering again, Kagome began to climb the third tier of shelves, when she heard the one of the tall, arch doors tentatively moan open. Kagome could make out a vague silhouette through the dim bronze-tinted light of the room. "Who's down there?" she called softly as she squinted down at the figure.

"That you, Kagome?" responded Inuyasha.

She smiled gently. "Yeah. I'm up here."

Inuyasha came to the bottom of the first staircase and dashed all the way up to her. "Hey," he breathed, blowing out his cheeks a little. "I wondered where you'd wandered off to."

Kagome smiled at him as his dog ear twitched lightly when she asked, "Were you looking for me?"

"Huh? Well...yeah, so what?" he muttered, averting his gaze.

She waved a hand. "That's ok. I was hoping to see you."

"You were? Why?"

"I just wanted to see you," the girl laughed at her fiancé's incredulous tone.

"You...you did?"

"Yeah. I did."

Inuyasha swallowed once as Kagome turned to face him. He could feel his powers fleeing faster. Upon glancing at his hands, he noticed his thumb-claw retracting.

He mentally shook his head. Why had he rushed out to see her so quickly? He could talk to Kagome any time. Why now when reining his emotions would all come rushing to the surface?

She tipped her head imploringly, as he fidgeted a little away from her. Right now, his fiancée was about to witness his transformation. No one but his mother had actually seen his hanyou-to-human change. The idea of allowing anyone see such a moment of absolute vulnerability—even further from hanyou or human—rather scared Inuyasha.

_"Trust a little, Inuyasha."_

He'd blame Mia for his actions he decided as his ears began their downward trek over his skull and he had yet to turn tail and run.

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome asked softly, blinking once.

"This is what my human transformation looks like."

"Oh..." was all she said as she watched his hair change colors, absolutely fascinated.

Inuyasha turned to the window a few strides away, and peered again to the sky. He waited for Kagome to say something more, but she kept silent. "You think I'm a freak don't you?" he spat quietly.

"What? No."

He leaned his hands on the windowsill. "You're so fucking quiet."

Kagome blinked once before approaching Inuyasha. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Inuyasha, I don't think you're a freak. I'm just...flattered that you actually transformed in front of me." A violet eye gave her silent, askance appraisal. "Does it hurt?"

His gaze held her for a moment until he looked away. "No. Not really. It hurt more to change from a dog to a human. Even then, it was more of a tingle."

"That makes sense, I guess. I mean, when you're a dog, your organs and bones are formed differently than in a human or demon body." Kagome mused softly, "What does it feel like...?"

He chuckled slightly. "Heh. It's kind of like water going from warm to cool on your skin. It's just weird. Besides, I can't stand having my senses dampened this much."

"Would be hard to switch from what you are to something else," his fiancée agreed.

The air hung hushed between them, Kagome's hand lingering on Inuyasha's shoulder; if anything, her weight rested a bit more on him.

Inuyasha stared out into the inky darkness that was only punctured by the revolving diffused taper of light from the lighthouse. The water continued to tenderly kiss the beach beneath the glistering stars. The gentle, balmy breath that tickled his human ear made the boy look to his fiancée as she asked, "So what did you come down here for?"

It was an innocent question, judging by the look in her ever-truthful eyes, but her closeness, which Inuyasha figured she didn't realize at the moment, caused his heart to find a way to his throat. He met her crystalline blue eyes for a moment before turning his head, and muttering a gruff, "Keh!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and moved away a little.

_"Don't fall back into an old habit because it's familiar—because it's 'safe'," _Mia's voice echoed in his head.

Inuyasha shifted somewhat as Kagome's hand and slight weight left his shoulder. Fighting against his own obdurate nature and Mia's advice, he finally mumbled, "Hey, Kagome."

"Yeah?"

He took a deep breath. _What the hell am I doing? I'm not gonna ask her..._ "Do you want go take a walk on the beach?" _Shit! No—wait!—fuck! Why the _hell _did I say that out loud?!_ Inuyasha mentally berated himself. Why was he suddenly being all romantic? He was a fighter, not a romantic. Damn that Mia—she'd infiltrated his thoughts. He swore he could hear her victorious cackling.

Kagome blinked once, before a tender smile passed over her lips. "That's sounds, nice, Inuyasha. Let's go."

"Huh?" His internal war's din had drowned out his previous thoughts, as well as whatever Kagome was responding to.

"Let's go for a walk on the beach, Inuyasha." Slipping her fingers under the heel of his palm, she slid the back of her hand over the wide windowsill until her palm was completely beneath his instead of the wood. "Come on."

Inuyasha's surprise showed on his face for a moment before he curled his fingers tentatively between hers.

Kagome smiled.

They noiselessly made their way out of the imperial library and trod quietly on the red velvet runners. Creeping through the halls, Inuyasha and Kagome eventually made their way to the ballroom. It was shrouded heavily in shadows; yet pale diffusions of light of unknown origin brightened a small arc of the room. The couple passed through the glow and onto the adjacent balcony where they stopped and watched the sky in silence.

They shared a furtive smile with each other before they promenaded down the marble steps. The collection of ivy and small blooms wavered in the night wind, and the beach stretched like a throng of glittering stars. The fiancés strolled languidly, their hands still clasped together while the sound of the sighing ocean did all the speaking for them. Coming to the very place Inuyasha had been watching, they instinctively turned towards each other.

Inuyasha swallowed once, feeling soft warmth touch his face. There were so many things he wanted to say to his fiancée right then. So much he needed to say, but, when he opened his mouth to speak; his mouth would close by its own anxious accord with a short exhale of frustrated breath.

Inuyasha peered down at their adjoined hands and then up to Kagome's face; her eyes shifted to silvery blue-grey as the distant lighthouse's beam played kindly over her irises. _What am I supposed to say to you, Kagome...? I know how I feel but.... _The young man half-smiled as he shook his head slightly. _I don't know how to express it. I don't know the words to say. I lost those words long ago._

_But..._

His arm went around Kagome's waist and he drew her to his chest. Inuyasha slowly released her hand in favor of wrapping his other arm around to bring her into an ardent embrace. _Maybe I can show you like this, Kagome..._ She was prone in his arms for a moment, until hers encircled his torso and she laid her head upon his chest. He felt her relax, and he gave his fiancée a short squeeze. Inuyasha rested his head lightly atop hers, closing his eyes and allowing his mind to be at peace.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As calming as the night before had been, the next day started as its polar opposite with a reign of absolute chaos.

"Your dress looks absolutely wonderful, Kagome," commented Sango with a smile.

"Thanks." Kagome beamed cheerfully. "Mia worked really hard on it."

"Indeed I did," the seamstress agreed, sliding the tape measure off from around her neck. "I was so worried about the skirt coming out flat—"

"It's perfect! I wouldn't change it."

Mia smiled, quirking an eyebrow. "My, you're in an impeccable mood today, Kagome. Any particular reason?"

Sango nodded. "She's right. You've been bubbly all morning." _The rest of us are dragging,_ she added on mentally with a tired sigh.

"Hm? Oh, no, everything's just great!" Kagome grinned again before suddenly breaking into quiet giggles, dancing around the room, her reflection spinning just as swiftly.

She had been up for part of last night just musing over her walk with Inuyasha. Every time it entered her mind, the giddier she would become; and rightfully so. He had held her with such warmth and honesty—so openly—for the first real time since she had known him...and while he hadn't said it, Kagome knew that Inuyasha cared about her and that was all that really mattered.

As her gaze panned over the glass while she twirled, she could imagine the flowing rose gown transforming into a pearly white one.

"Well then," Mia announced with a clap of her hands, "it looks like the dress is going to work out just fine. You can get changed into your other clothes, Kagome."

With another smile, Kagome toddled behind the screen with Sango in tow to help her take the gown off. Sango appeared a few minutes later with the gown reverently spread over her arms. "Here, Mia," said Sango, passing the garment to her.

"Thank you." Going over to the mannequin in the room, Mia carefully slid the dress onto its metal form. "I wish I'd gotten to see you more often, Sango. I really would have liked to have gotten to know you better. Same goes for Miroku."

Sango smiled gently. " Me too, although I haven't seen Miroku in a few days."

A few moments later, Kagome emerged, clad in a blue jumper with an ivory tee-shirt beneath it. "Are you going to go home, Mia?" she asked as the young woman began to pack her supplies.

The seamstress shook her head. "No, I think I want to see how Inuyasha deals with getting his hair and nails done. I mean, I narrowly missed seeing him stomp out of that full-body massage with only a towel around his waist." She laughed softly. "That was too priceless."

Kagome laughed as well. "I don't think he liked a seven-foot high Swede touching his bare skin."

"No, probably not." Mia sat on a short black stool while the younger girls shared the pillow-podium. She reached down and retrieved her bottle of water, taking a long sip.

"Hey, Kagome," whispered Sango to her friend, "did you ever notice Mia takes a drink every fifteen minutes?"

The fifteen-year-old shook her head. "No, I didn't. I wonder why..."

A rendition of "Iris" made its way into the air. Mia hastily swallowed her water, waved a hand at the pair in apology before standing up to extract a sleek silver cell phone from her slacks' pocket. "Moshi, moshi," she said cheerfully. "Hm? Oh, hello, Sage!" Mia switched to English; thankfully, Sango and Kagome were excellent in their foreign language and understood it perfectly—it was the speaking and conjugating part they had a problem with.

Mia returned to her spot across from the girls, beaming just as Kagome had. "I'm fine, love, I'm fine. What...? Yes, yes, I'm drinking plenty of fluids... No, I've been careful not to—yes, I've—no—yes—yes, but wait!"

The pair snickered as they heard a decidedly male voice make frenetic outbursts to everyone of their dear seamstress' phrases.

" ...Sage! Sage, stop talking so fast! Will you stop worrying? I'm fine, I'm eating healthy things and I'm drinking lots of water, I'm doing everything the doctor said to do. Stop worrying so much. I'm a big girl now, Sage, and I'm keeping an eye on myself. Have some faith in me, please. ...Oh, Sage..." Mia's annoyed expression melted to a loving one as she reclined on the table behind her. "Thank you, love. I'm glad to know that you cared, but you should get to your class before your professor decides to beat you." She laughed. "Oh, yes, O Mighty One, I will be the good little woman and return to the apartment in an hour or two. I love you, Sage. Later, love."

Mia punched the 'end call' button. She turned to the two eager girls. "Y-yes?" She blinked, returning to her Japanese. "What is it?"

"Was that your husband?" excitedly inquired Kagome.

"Oh, yes. As a matter of fact it was. He was just checking up on me." Mia smiled. "He's so good to me."

Sango moved her hands up to readjust her ponytail prior to asking, "What was he checking up on you for? Are you all right?"

Nodding, she replied, "I'm perfectly healthy. It's just that..." Kagome leaned forward as Mia twiddled her wedding band around her finger. "W-well...Sage and I are expecting our first child."

"That's wonderful!" Kagome clapped her hands happily. "How far along are you?"

"Just entered my third month. Sage is so nervous about becoming a father." Mia placed a hand fondly to her abdomen. "He's a great man, and a wonderful husband. I don't think it'll be a stretch for him to be a good father."

"Mm...it sounds wonderful..." sighed Kagome.

Mia simply bobbed her head. "Why don't we go check on Inuyasha?"

"Sounds like a good idea," agreed Sango, taking the lead. "He's in the first floor bathroom."

Together, the three trekked out of the sewing room and as they headed toward the grand staircase, they heard shouting from below them.

"What in the world--?" began Mia before Inuyasha's voice hollered, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME YOU FUCKING WEIRDO!"

Curious, the girls hastened down the stairs and made their way to the first floor bathroom. As Sango pushed the door open and the other two burst in, they froze. Inuyasha sat in a chair with his wet hair dripping into the black sink while what appeared to be a very giggly woman or a very effeminate man perched on his lap wearing a neon pink polyester shirt and black slacks. Inuyasha continued to shout and he/she continued to titter.

Sango's right eye ticked. "What is that...?"

"Now, now, Inu sweetums!" the person on Inuyasha lap cooed, tweaking one of his dog ears. "Don't be like that! We must _simply_ do _something _with your hair! You _obviously_ aren't taking care of it, _are_ you?"

Mia swallowed once before nodding. "I'm pretty sure that's a really girly guy...and I'm about to wager he's straight like a circle." _And I was giving Inuyasha the "don't be judgmental" lecture yesterday.... Talk about ironic..._ she thought.

Kagome looked somewhere between horrified and disbelieving. "U-um, e-e-excuse m-me," she managed. "But, what are you doing to my fiancé?"

Inuyasha glanced over, and as soon as he did so his face flamed scarlet. "K-K-K-Kagome...." he spluttered before letting out a loud expletive when the effeminate man laid his head on the hanyou's shoulder. "Off, you freak!"

"Oh, but honeybunches," he chirped, "you know you want me here." The man raised his eye-shadowed lids suggestively.

Inuyasha shoved the man off. "Damn it, Jakotsu! Just do your job and trim my hair like Sesshoumaru told you to. It was bad enough when you were giving me a manicure..." The half-demon visibly shuddered, glancing down at his clean and polished claws.

Jakotsu stuck out his bottom lip. "Oh, Inu-chan..." he purred.

"Hey, maybe you can do what he asked and get his hair trimmed," stated Sango, narrowing her eyes at him.

Jakotsu stuck his nose up, giving a harrumph, still not rising from the floor. "I don't associate with _women,_" he spat.

_Yup, I knew it. He's gay,_ Mia thought dryly. _Now if he isn't stereotypical, than I don't know what is._

"Well, um, we really need Inuyasha to hurry up and get to his manners lesson," offered Kagome.

Mia nodded. "Yeah, and I want to double check his tuxedo jacket again. He looks quite nice in it."

In the blink of an eye, Jakotsu leapt back into Inuyasha's lap. Wrapping his arms around the hanyou's neck, he simpered, "But he's mine now. I'm far better than all three of you combined."

Sango snorted, Kagome nervously smiled, and Mia rolled her eyes. "So you think you're better than us, huh?" said the seamstress.

"Of _course_, I am! I take _so_ much better care of myself than _you_ do." Jakotsu continued to cling happily while Inuyasha tried to yank him off.

"Obviously. Except...well, you probably don't want to know." Mia turned away. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"Whaaaat?" whined Jakotsu, leaning towards her.

"Oh—nothing, nothing. Except your make-up isn't perfect." Mia smirked to herself as Jakotsu dislodged himself from his unwilling clientele and went into a flurry of movement, searching for his compact. Mia turned around again.

"You're so _right!"_ he cried, tears splashing overly-dramatic down his cheeks. "I have smudges _everywhere!_"

"That's because you're crying...." Sango wryly pointed out.

Jakotsu ignored her. "Waah! I can't find my compact _anywhere!_ You!" He sprinted lightly to Mia, terror shining in his eyes. "Do you have a tube of lipstick or _something _on you?"

The seamstress shook her noggin. "'fraid I don't. Maybe you left your make-up in your car. Go check there." She smiled, patting him gently on the shoulder. "There, there. Go ahead and look."

"O-ok," he agreed dashing out of the room. He hollered over his shoulder, "Now, don't worry, Inu-honey, I'll be back so_on!"_

Kagome watched the door swing quietly shut again before turning to Inuyasha. "Are you—" she stopped mid sentence as her fiancée repeatedly kept dunking his head beneath the water-filled sink, muttering something about "getting it off". She approached him and tapped his shoulder. "You ok?"

He looked wildly to her. "That guy is against all laws of nature, Kagome..." he hissed.

Sango nodded. "And his clothes are a little to...bright for me."

"We better work quickly then," Mia said, going over to the immaculately kept hair-care kit and lifting a brush from it."

"What do you mean 'work quickly'?" snapped Inuyasha.

"Exactly what it means. I'm going to do your hair."

"Oh no! Forget it!" He made to get up but was thrust back into his chair by Mia.

Her dark brown eyes glowed commandingly at him. "You're going to stay here, or else I'll allow Mr. Light-in-His-Loafers have his way with you."

Inuyasha nodded. "Keh, fine." He crossed his arms tightly over his torso, but Kagome could have sworn he was shaking slightly.

"Now then...." Mia raised the brush and went swiftly to work. Sango stood watch at the door, saying that it would probably take Jakotsu a while to get to his car and back. Sesshoumaru didn't allow the daytime assistants to park on his property; Mia smirked triumphantly. "Hm, yet I can. Wonder why."

Kagome kept her fiancé company and fetched tools for Mia whenever she needed them. "Have you ever had your hair cut before, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome, smiling at him.

"No," he muttered, wincing as the seamstress snipped away at the ragged ends of his hair. "I don't know why I need to...."

"You've got split ends," admonished Mia. "It looks like someone hacked it with a saw, but don't worry. It'll look fine, Inuyasha. And stop flinching. It doesn't hurt, you big baby."

"I am NOT a big baby," he pouted.

"Coulda fooled me..." Sango mumbled from the doorway.

Inuyasha snorted as Mia snagged the hair dryer and blew the half-demon's silvery locks into a cloud about his face. She worked deftly and soon she shut off the dryer and grinned. "Much better," she murmured, brushing Inuyasha hair to cesium shininess.

"Wow, Inuyasha," Kagome went around behind him and ran her fingers through his tresses, "you look great."

He blushed. "Keh."

"She—I mean—he is coming back," Sango warned.

"We're outta here," Inuyasha said, snatching Kagome's hand as he, his fiancée and the other two hurried out of the room via the large bathroom's side door.

Jakotsu entered again, smiling to himself. He just knew his make-up was perfect now. "O Inu-_chan_!" he sang. "I'm _back_!" His gaze went to the empty chair, the silver hair clippings littering the floor about it. Jakotsu frowned. "I'll bet it was that older woman.... She tricked me. I'll get her back for that, that stupid seamstress woman...."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome stared out her bedroom window. She laughed quietly, remembering her fun-filled day with Inuyasha; Sango looked about ready to kill him when he refused to make polite conversation, to use the correct fork, or to _not_ slouch while seated.

Even so, Kagome continued to think about the more serious things—not just about Naraku, or her guardianship of the Shikon no Tama, but about her relationship with Inuyasha. It had undoubtedly changed over the past couple of months. He had loved to—and still did—goad her with snide remarks, or be stubborn as mule—which he still was—, or to get defensive when another guy came within three hundred yards—which he still did; yet it was a combination of these peculiar character traits that so endeared him to her.

After all, if he didn't care about her, he wouldn't have been so jealous of Kouga and Houjou—neither of which she had any interest in other than friendship—nor would he have been so sweet the previous night. But, Kagome remembered that last night was not something straight out of the blue; Inuyasha had done other loving things before. Like dancing on the beach, or when they went up to watch the fireworks on New Years—up till the part where he got whacked by a car...—or when he'd keep her company when she was doing her homework or doing chores for Gramps.

There were also the subtle things she had noticed when he was a dog. He always had a remarkably curious way of looking at her, and even now, it fascinated her. She had spent three months with him, unable to understand him any other way than the way he acted, the way his eyes shined.

That embrace they had shared had meant something to him, Kagome was sure of it. Inuyasha was never good at emotional things, and he was so..._shy_ when it came to expressing how he felt, with the exception of anger, that she knew it was a good sign that he was happy with her.

Right then, Kagome was enormously glad she didn't have any competition. _Then I'd be worried,_ she thought. _I'd probably be really stressed out. Still, shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch._ Kagome pushed that contemplation from her mind and simply smiled at the sky.

A sudden bout of dizziness caught her off guard. Kagome crossed to her bed and laid down, unexpectedly feeling fatigued. Darkness overtook her before her head ever hit the pillow.

_There was darkness everywhere.... Everywhere she turned, there it was. Somewhere within it, the light lingered on._

_Kagome began rushing towards it, but was thwarted by an inhuman snarl. She went flying back. Tears stung her eyes and she could smell the blood. She looked to her hands only to find them bathed in crimson. Her heart raced and her mind whirled._

_Dark laughter echoed throughout the nothingness, and it danced in an indistinct familiarity on her ears. Kagome pressed her bloodied hands to her ears as she dropped to her knees. The Shikon no Tama shined on her chest, and a faint beam of magenta glowed far off in the distance. _

_Then the sounds overwhelmed her senses. Images of death and despair began to flicker before her eyes like an old movie reel, and before she knew it, she was screaming. Screaming for all that terrified act was worth. Screaming one word, one name—Inuyasha._

Kagome bolted upright in her bed. Her chest heaved and she pressed her palm over her heart. "It was just a dream..." She passed a hand over her eyes. "It was so real..." Quivering, she ventured to look around her darkened room. The gauzy curtains continued to flutter gently in the open air. She exhaled gradually as she saw her hands were just as clean as they had been when she'd gone to bed.

She touched a hand to her cheek. A tear drop slid beneath her fingertips. "Was it just a dream...or was it...?" Kagome chewed her bottom lip, still trying to shake the eerie feeling from her body when the door abruptly slammed open.

"Kagome?!" Inuyasha stood in the threshold, his gold eyes reflecting the faint light as he scanned the bedroom before letting them rest on the startled girl.

"I-Inuyasha..." She sighed in relief, forcing a grimace.

His gaze narrowed in mock agitation to hide the glimmerings of concern as he approached her. "What the hell happened? You woke me out of a dead sleep. Did someone attack you? Are you hurt?"

Kagome's grimace slipped. "I..." She turned her face away, leaving her fiancé to stare at her curtain of black hair.

"Kagome?"

"N-no...no, it was nothing like that. I... I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" repeated Inuyasha. "That was a really terrified scream for just a nightmare."

"I know," she stuttered, "but I think...I'm scared to think that it's a vision." Weight shifted on the place beside her, and Kagome glanced up to see Inuyasha perched there, listening attentively; Kagome grimaced again, vaguely thinking that maybe some of the etiquette lessons were actually sinking in. "It isn't the first I've had, but you already know that."

He nodded. "Yeah...with Mother."

"It must sound so unreal to you."

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "When I used the Kaze no Kizu to get out of the old man's tomb, it was his voice telling me what to do. So—I guess it's not that strange to me, or whatever."

She bobbed her head once, drawing the ivory bed sheet into her hand as it curled into a fist. "I was just so scared. I didn't know what was happening. There were all these voices, and I could see things, but it was all so fast, that I was totally lost. I didn't know where to look or where to turn."

"You...did the right thing." Kagome looked to Inuyasha, perplexed. "You did the right thing...Kagome. You called me. I'll always come for you when you call me."

"Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha, who had diverted his eyes, brought them back up to Kagome, his gaze fervent yet pleading. "Do you understand, Kagome?"

She could only stare at him until the frightened tears began to prickle her eyes and before she knew it, a steady stream was snaking over her face. Without a second thought, Kagome threw herself into her fiancé's chest and buried her face in his tee-shirt. She sniffled, clinging tremblingly to his clothing. "I was so afraid that it had something to do with you, Inuyasha, and I was so afraid. I was so weak... I'm always so weak..."

Gently, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't be stupid, Kagome. That's gotta be the dumbest fucking thing you've ever said," he whispered, though not unkindly. "You're very strong. It's because of you that...that _I'm_ not afraid anymore. For the first time in my life, I know what I want."

"What do you want?" she choked, lifting her countenance a little towards him.

"Heh," he chuckled, taking a thumb and wiping away some of her tears, then cupping her cheek in his rough palm, "well, for starters, for you to stop bawling, dummy."

Kagome hiccupped a laugh. "No...no, I'm serious. What do you want?"

Inuyasha lapsed into silence, his face oddly pensive. "What I want, Kagome...?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I want to know what you want."

Their gazes met for a brief moment that seemed to stretch languidly to the pair. "What I want..." he whispered, his hand moving to her hair, allowing his claws the luxury of tangling in her tresses. "...is...." Inuyasha leaned downwards and tenderly pressed his lips to hers; their eyes fluttered closed, and Kagome returned the chaste kiss. He pulled away from her, smiling softly—honestly—for the first time. "...you..."

_Oh, Inuyasha..._ Kagome smiled in the same manner back at him. "Inuyasha, I—"

A loud crash reached their ears, startling the couple.

"What was that?" the girl asked as the sound echoed for a time before dying away.

"I don't know," tensely replied Inuyasha, rising and taking Kagome along with him, "but I think we should find out. It sounded like it came from the sewing room."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Internal squeal! I have been so busy with all these projects and such for school, and I am finally glad I had the time to sort out my thoughts and get this chapter written just as I wanted. Well, you all wanted a kiss, and a kiss you got! I told you I had my reasons. But, now—oooo.....wonder what that crash was.... So many questions, and so little time. Ah...we'll get there...we'll get there.

Moonlight Shadow


	32. Last Minute Details

A/N: Chapter Thirty-Two...what a rush! Still not done, but getting there! There really isn't much more to say, except some of you misinterpreted Inuyasha's last line to Kagome. But, I'll probably clear that up later.

Don't forget to check out the collection of one-shots and drabbles for "On a Leash" titled "On a Leash: Emancipated."

_Chapter Thirty-Two: Last Minute Details_

Kagome and Inuyasha hastened out of her bedroom. They sprinted the entire way to the sewing room, numerous worries flashing through their minds. Inuyasha pushed the door open with a bang and entered, Kagome's hand gripped tightly in his.

Nothing was there but a small whirlwind of papers in the center of the room, blowing about because of the opened window. Inuyasha released his fiancée's hand in favor of rushing to the window, in hopes of catching the fleeing figure of whoever had been in there. He snorted once, before breathing in a very curious scent of perfume.

His eyes scrunched up slightly as he tried to match the familiarly annoying scent, when a gasp reached his ears. "What is it, Kagome?"

Kneeling beside her pale pink gown, which had fallen on its side—the metal mannequin beneath it was what had most probably made the crash—, she spared a heartbroken glance at her fiancé. "M-my gown...someone put a huge slash in it..."

"What...?" Inuyasha padded over to her and upon sinking to his haunches, he saw long, jagged cut in the voluminous skirt. He growled slightly. "Who the hell did this...?" His gaze was attracted upwards where a slip of paper was attached via a safety pin to the bosom of the gown.

Inu-chan,

This is because of that stupid woman got to cut your wonderful hair; but don't worry, sweetums—I'm not mad. We can always make it up later. I couldn't touch your tux because I know you'd look too delicious in it.

Love always,

-Jakotsu

Inuyasha stared at the note with a mixture of disgust and total aggravation. He glared at the little chibi-people Jakotsu had doodled along the edge before crushing it into a ball and tossing it over his shoulder. He glanced back to Kagome; she looked like she was on the brink of crying.

Doing the only thing he could think of, he dropped to his knees, leaned over, and embraced the distraught girl for the second time that night. "Calm down, Kagome, it's just a dress."

"But, Mia worked so hard on it for me," she protested, voice cracking. "Mia's my friend, and it's not fair—I feel bad that this happened—"

"It's not your fault though. Kagome, this could have been worse—Jakotsu could have gone after you!" His exclamation seemed to catch her off-guard as her choked-breaths subsided. "Kagome," he drew her close, "I meant what I said. I want you...you know...to be with me—to stay by my side. You're all I want because you're all that matters, Kagome."

"How touching."

Inuyasha's head snapped to the doorway where Sesshoumaru stood. "Keh." He nodded towards the fallen ball gown while standing, Kagome rising with him. "That campy hairdresser you called in did that to Kagome's gown."

Sesshoumaru's eyes briefly glimmered the faintest trace of fatigue as he scanned the damage done. "Hmph. It made quite a clatter." He snapped his fingers and Jaken, who must have been waiting for his cue, skid into the room with a flip-phone in hand. "Jaken," he addressed the toad demon without a glance, "dial up the seamstress woman."

Jaken nodded quickly. "Yes, Master Sesshoumaru." The company lapsed into silence as the toad waited for Mia to answer. "Madam, Master Sesshoumaru demands your presence here at the estate _immediately!_ Do not be late!" With a harrumph, he slapped the phone closed. "She said she would arrive within the next thirty minutes, impudent woman."

"Shut the hell up, Jaken," snapped Inuyasha with a slight sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His brother's servant made another sound of disdain before mooching out of the room with the incentive to be at the front door when Mia arrived.

The half hour passed languidly. Inuyasha set the gown upright again, and Kagome continued to pick listlessly at the rented fabric. Sesshoumaru waited with them, tight-lipped as usual; occasionally, he would glance at the analog watch upon his wrist—he was still clad in his business casual clothes.

Eventually, quiet footfalls lead up to the slightly ajar door where Mia stepped in. She looked quite different from all the other times Kagome and Inuyasha seen her; her long dark brown hair free from its normal upsweep and fell in waves just past her shoulders with slight ringlets framing her face. Her lithe form was clothed in a pair of thin, black pajama bottoms and an equally lightweight pink tee-shirt. The only things that remained the same were the pair of light blue slippers on her feet and the black bag that she carried her sewing supplies in.

Sesshoumaru watched her dryly as Kagome softly apologized once or twice to the young woman. Waiting until she was in his direct line of sight, Sesshoumaru sneered, "You're five minutes late." Mia speared him a weary glance without breaking stride, and Sesshoumaru narrowed a glare at her.

"Shove it, Fluffy."

Inuyasha snickered as Mia hunkered down to inspect the damage of her precious gown.

"How bad is it?" asked Kagome, coming up beside the seamstress.

Mia shook her head, running a hand once through her hair. "Not that bad, actually, I should—"

The door slammed open again as a pair of sneakers squawked over the marble. "SESSHOUMARU!" a male voice snarled. The entire company, with the exception of Sesshoumaru himself, turned their heads towards the newest arrival.

Jaken slipped into the room, seemingly out of breath. "I tried to stop him, my lord, but he just kept going!"

"Shut up, you!" the seemingly human man snapped, blue eyes flickering to a dark sapphire.

Kagome rather blushed at the young man's state of dress—a simple pair of black cloth jogging pants and an A-shirt that stretched somewhat over his lean torso. Glimpsing at Mia, she noticed the young seamstress's eyes grow wide and her face pale a little.

"Sesshoumaru," he called again, striding a few paces into the sewing room, "how _dare_ you call my wife at _two in fucking morning?!_ It's way too early for her to be up! She's expecting a pup, you insufferable prick!"

Kagome blinked as the youki around the man crackled violently. _His wife..._ She glanced to Mia again. _Mia...? Then that must be Sage..._

Sesshoumaru matched gazes with Sage for a moment before gliding passed him. "Your wife agreed to be on call as long as I employed her services. You have no room to complain."

Sage growled in the other demon's wake. "Lousy bastard..." he spat as the door clicked shut.

"Geez, don't you sound mature?" scoffed Inuyasha from his reclining spot against the wall. He turned his weight back onto his feet. "You sound like a whining whelp."

"Shut up, pup! You're not even old enough to chew on a milk bone compared to me."

"Pup?! What do you mean by that?!"

"Exactly what I said, you bitchy pup!"

"Keh! Like you know anything!"

"Like hell I do!"

Kagome sighed, suddenly realizing how large the sewing room actually was—it was managing to contain the two massive egos of the two dog hanyous for starters...

The pair was now having an insult war, intermittent with growls and barks, and Sage's human ears had begun to trek up his shaggy blond head.

"S-Sage, please..." softly requested Mia, raising a hand towards him as he and Inuyasha continued to bicker. She looked nervously between the two, her normally relaxed visage growing more troubled.

"What else do you have to say, huh?" Sage growled at Inuyasha. He leaned towards his opponent, top lip raised to reveal his canine teeth as he flexed his clawed hands, quite ready to go claw-to-claw.

Sage and Inuyasha had just about come nose-to-nose when a loud cry broke into the thrumming air.

Before Inuyasha even had the chance to blink, Sage had rushed over to crouch where Mia was sitting on her rump crying. "Mia...what's wrong?" he questioned gently, taking her into his arms and rocking her back and forth. His earlier quarrel with Inuyasha seemed to have fled from his mind.

"Y-your f-fighting upset me," she sniffled into her husband's shoulder. "It upset the baby..."

Inuyasha finally blinked.

Sage made soft shushing noises as he laid his cheek upon his mate's head and kissed her hair. "I'm sorry, honey. Are you and the pup all right?"

Mia nodded into his shoulder, still crying.

Inuyasha looked to Kagome helplessly who simply smiled at him.

Sage's ears stood canine-like atop his head, but were gradually retreating to their former position. He glanced at the younger couple before saying apologetically, "She's normally not like this..."

Mia gave another loud wail. "You make it sound like I have a disease rather than being pregnant!"

"M-Mia..!" stuttered the fair-haired half-demon. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"You're so mean!" She smacked a fist against his chest and Sage simply sighed inaudibly. One, he knew she didn't mean it; and two, it really didn't hurt.

_Oh, ow..._ "Yes, little Mia, I know."

She sniffled again before raising her tear-streaked face up to gaze into his eyes. Her bottom lip trembled. "I-I'm so sorry, Sage. I didn't mean to hit you. Do you forgive me?"

He nodded with a smile. "Of course, love."

Mia smiled back. "My hormones are so messed up."

"I know..."

Kagome hesitantly approached the seamstress. "Are you ok, Mia?"

She smiled, moving away from her husband. "I'm fine now, Kagome. I'm really not like that. It's just...with the pup and all...." Sage also beamed at Kagome, showing his obvious pleasure on his wife's switch from saying 'baby' to 'pup'. Wiping her eyes with Sage's A-shirt—to which he rolled his eyes with a chuckle—Mia snatched her sewing bag, and began to assess the damage.

Sage stood up and sat on the cushioned podium, resting his weight rearwards onto his arms. He looked quite relaxed, but it was obvious from his keen gaze that he was keeping vigil over his wife.

Not knowing what else to do, as Inuyasha was quietly observing the couple through his half-lidded eyes, Kagome went over to Sage. "So...you're Mia's husband?"

He looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. You must be, Kagome, right? Mia's mentioned you."

"All nice things, I assure you," Mia's voice laughed from the other side of the billowing skirt.

Kagome blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. And she's mentioned that pain-in-the-ass you're engaged to." Sage snorted simultaneously with Inuyasha. He gently plucked at the tear-soaked spots on his shirt. His expression softened greatly.

"You're really protective of Mia, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. Isn't it obvious? It's in a dog demon's nature to be protective of his mate or significant other." He shrugged before turning a charismatic grin to the teenage girl. "It's just a fact of nature. And besides, I'm crazy about my Mia. Mia mia Mia."

"You do realize," said Inuyasha, "that you said her name three times."

Sage tsked, waggling a finger to and fro while Kagome looked on in interest. "I said 'my beloved Mia.' It just always sounds the same."

Mia's distinct giggling could be heard, followed by, "Hey, Sage, could you come here and hold this section for me? I think I can repair this and still make it look as sophisticated as Fluffy-kins asked."

"Of course, my princess," he drawled sarcastically, sliding off the podium and padding towards her.

"Haha—now, come on, dog boy."

Sage waved a hand as he hunkered down beside her and inevitably disappeared from view.

Kagome took Sage's spot, listening to the pair playfully banter. _Will Inuyasha and I be like that when we get married?_ she wondered. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Kagome," murmured Inuyasha, "it's probably around three in the morning. I have to agree with that shit-for-brains," a snort could be heard, "that Mia should probably get some rest. It could be bad for their pup if she doesn't get enough sleep. She and him can have my room."

Mia's head popped around the billowing skirt. "That's very kind of you, Inuyasha, but where will you sleep?"

He shrugged. "Probably in Kagome's room or somethin'."

Kagome flushed. _She probably thinks the worst..._

"Well...sounds harmless to me." Mia gave a thumb's up before disappearing again. "We'll go to bed in a minute then and I'll finish tomorrow. I need to pick up my stuff first--!"

Sage stood up, Mia cradled in his arms. "Where's your room, Inuyasha?"

"Down the hall. Door should be open. You can't miss it."

"Ok, thanks. Come on, Mia," Sage said cheerfully, exiting the sewing room. "You need some sleep...that asshole interrupted some quality cuddlin' time."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Could they be any sappier?"

With a roll of her eyes, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve. "We should be heading off, too."

"Yeah, yeah."

The pair made it back to Kagome's bedroom. The girl climbed into bed, while the hanyou went over and closed the still-open veranda doors; then he came to sit with his back against his fiancée's bedside and face the window.

"Inuyasha, do you want to sleep in here, too?" she asked rather shyly.

He turned his head and he replied, "Nah, I'm going to keep an eye out in case Jakotsu decides to show up again."

Kagome chewed her bottom lip as he looked away again. That wasn't what she wanted to ask. _Do you love me, Inuyasha...?_ That's what she wanted to know. _Is that why you kissed me...?_

"Oi, Kagome."

She shifted slightly at the sound of his low voice. "Yeah?"

"Do you know what a kiss on the lips means?"

"Huh?" She blinked. "Why?"

"Never mind," he said shortly. "It's nothing."

Kagome felt warmth touch her cheeks. _Inuyasha..._ Placing a hand to her lips, she closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep. "Inuyasha," she sighed groggily.

"What?"

"...I think we left that other window open..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sango sighed as she held her hairbrush in her mouth and used her now-free hands to tease her chestnut hair into a high ponytail in front of the hall mirror.

Her watch beeped once, signaling it was eight o'clock—time to wake up the betrothed pair. She thought of turning back to her room to put her brush away, but decided it might be better to keep it with her in case she needed to use something to whap Inuyasha with when she woke him up.

She started down the hallway, only to be hailed by a cheerful, "Good morning, Sango!"

Sango stopped short when she spotted the beaming Miroku jogging towards her. "Oh, you, too, Miroku..." she began as he drew near, but her voice left her as she felt something on her posterior.

Perhaps it was for the best the hairbrush was still out...

A few whacks on the noggin later, Miroku smiled apologetically to Sango as they trekked to Inuyasha's room. "I was simply beyond words—there was nothing that could fully encompass my pleasure to see you."

Releasing a tight sigh, she mumbled, "Miroku, that's how you always greet me."

"I am a creature of habit."

"Habitually a pervert."

Miroku placed a hand over his heart, now in stride with her. "You wound me, lovely Sango."

"Sure I do," she drawled before changing the subject, as was common practice for them. "Besides your obvious character flaws, where did you disappear to Miroku?"

"Ah—so you noticed I was away. Well, Sesshoumaru sent me off to accompany Kagura at her art expo in France." He watched as she nodded while approaching Inuyasha's doorway.

Sango rapped on the door three times before gently pushing it open. "Inuyasha, time to get up—" she began before quietly cutting herself off.

"What is it?" inquired the young monk, pressing into the room. He smiled lopsidedly at the sight of the seamstress and her husband curled up together in the middle of their hanyou friend's bed, her head tucked beneath her husband's chin and the rest of her flush against him. He loitered for a moment before following Sango's example and respectfully exiting the bedchamber. "They both looked rather tired," he commented, the expression fixed on his face.

"Inuyasha's right—you _are_ a lecher."

Miroku smiled at her again. "You are the one whose mind jumped to that conclusion."

Sango snorted and strode faster ahead of him, while he chuckled at ruffling her feathers. "We should try Kagome's room. After last night, I wouldn't doubt if Inuyasha was keeping her company."

"Ah, yes. Sesshoumaru called Kagura and me during our return flight this morning and told us what happened. At least no one was injured."

"Yeah, that's true. It's just that repairing the dress is going to put some pressure before the ball tonight." Sango sighed and shook her head. "And Inuyasha still refuses to cooperate with me. His table manners are so-so, and he refuses to behave. I know he knows how to be polite—he's just being a stubborn mule."

"Mm...yes, that is in Inuyasha's nature. And you are correct about the ball, only you have forgotten a minor detail." His violet eyes twinkled.

"And what's that?"

"You are going with me, Sango."

"Ugh," she leaned on the doorframe of Kagome's door, "it's too early to think about that, Miroku. But..." she looked shyly to him, "I am glad you are taking me...even if you had to employ Kagome's match-making services."

He smiled. "While Kagura and I stopped in Lourdes, I found this quant little jewelry store. I stopped in and found something absolutely exquisite, and with my superior bargaining skills, I picked up this little trinket." Miroku reached into his pocket and withdrew a silver necklace. He undid the clip and looked to Sango. He held it open. "May I?"

She nodded, asking, "F-for me?" She stepped away from the doorframe.

Miroku chuckled as he went behind her. "And who else would be lovely enough to wear this?" He moved the chain to Sango's throat and, pushing her swinging ponytail aside with his forearm, clipped the chain behind her neck.

Dumbly, Sango raised a hand to the fine links. She felt Miroku slide something along the chain to the front. A small piece of coral re-shaped into a tear drop hung just over her collarbone. Sango was surprised; Miroku had gotten her namesake.

She stood motionless, trying to get her bearings. A pair of arms encircled her shoulders from behind. It was then that Sango realized Miroku was still there. "What is it?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, teasing at the tendrils of hair behind her ear. "Nothing, Sango. I have been so busy, and I really haven't pursued our relationship very much have I?" Sango's face flared at the word 'relationship.' "I wanted to show you I really do care about you, all perverted humor aside. I've been gone a lot as of late, and when I was with Kagura, I kept thinking of you, Sango."

She bowed her head slightly. Closing her eyes, she murmured, "Thank you, Miroku." Sango turned around and gingerly wrapped her arms around his torso. "I missed you too."

Miroku was mildly taken aback by the girl's action. She was very conservative by nature, but, as he gave her a squeeze, he knew what he had told her was the absolute truth. This time, the notion to rub his palm over the curve her backside didn't cross his mind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome and Inuyasha woke up naturally at around nine o'clock. "I wonder where Sango is," Kagome wondered aloud between yawns. "She said she was going to wake me up this morning."

Inuyasha shrugged as he got up, popping his left shoulder. "Who cares? I'm hungry."

"Me too."

So, with that notion, the pair headed down to the kitchen. The entire villa was filled with motion and sound as people bustled to destinations unknown to the couple. When the kitchen staff saw them, they hastened Inuyasha and Kagome to the breakfast nook, and promptly brought out eggs, muffins, and sausages. Glasses of milk and orange juice were poured and set before them.

Neither spoke very much, as the staff bade them to hurry and ready for the day; they were running behind schedule already. The cook was clapping her hands loudly while she called out directives to her underlings.

Blearily, the fiancées rose from the table about ten minutes later, having eaten their fill—or at least what the butler believed was enough. "My apologies, Master Inuyasha, Mistress Kagome, but we need to prepare the kitchen for extra chefs for tonight's dinner. You should probably bathe and report downstairs for your etiquette lessons."

Inuyasha grumbled. "We _still_ have to take lessons, even though today's the actual ball?"

"Yes, Master."

"What the hell for?"

The butler winced. "Your elder brother, Master Sesshoumaru, believes that there may be a way yet to instill upon you the..._finer_ point of etiquette, Master Inuyasha."

"This is really taking high priority on Sesshoumaru's list, isn't it?" asked Kagome in amazement as three men hauled in a large sack of flour into the swinging double doors of the kitchen.

"Of course it is," responded her fiancé. "Naraku's involved."

The butler bowed slightly. "This way to your baths, please. Your day attire has already been selected and laid out."

Without much protest from either, with the exception of Inuyasha's mumble of how his clothes had better be _normal_, they exited the nook. As they headed to the first floor bathroom—Inuyasha was just a teensy bit wary after the Jakotsu incident, not that he'd admit it—they bumped into Sage and Mia.

"Good morning, Kagome!" Sage greeted cheerfully with a friendly wave of his hand, the other holding his wife's. He looked to Inuyasha and shrugged noncommittally. "You, too, pup."

Inuyasha growled. "I'll forgive that for now, ass-biter."

Sage rolled his eyes. "I don't have fleas. But apparently your retainer is, hmm? Ouch!" He rubbed the side where his wife's elbow had jabbed in between his ribs. "That actually hurt that time, Mia."

Mia narrowed her brown eyes at him, saying with a saccharinely sweet tone, "I _know,_ honey. Anyway," she turned her attention, far more pleasant, to the younger pair, "Sage and I will be taking off for a little bit. We both need to change, I need to pick up some extra material just in case something else happens, and Sage needs to go a couple of classes."

"Oh, ok," replied Kagome.

"Be back soon." With a bright smile, Mia led her husband down the hallway, as he started to interrogate her about how she was feeling.

The butler soon turned them towards the bathroom again and ushered the pair in. Kagome was sent to the left while Inuyasha went to the right for their respective bathing areas. One wouldn't call the soak much of a relaxing venture. Rather it was a harried event with several of the servants attacking their hair and bodies.

Kagome could hear Inuyasha's aggravated yelling from her large tub. While she could sympathize, she was a little too busy worrying about not drowning in the frothiness of her bathwater as several ladies all pounced on her hair and arms at once.

In and out in about five minutes, Inuyasha and Kagome could only stare at each other, making some sort of unspoken truce: never go near the first floor bathroom. It just wasn't safe.

Clad in fluffy, white bathrobes, they went to their respective rooms and dressed in their predetermined clothes. Coming back down, a rather jubilant Miroku greeted them; however, over the next hour or so, his optimism died a little as Inuyasha continually fought with him over proper table manners.

The once beautiful table in the private dining hall was now a mess. The cranberry juice they had been using in place of wine had spilt on the, thankfully stain-protected, tablecloth and a few of the place settings were disorganized. Of course, that wasn't as bad as the centerpiece—a wreath of flowers—ended up suspended from the chandelier.

Miroku took a deep breath and sighed. _I am Buddhist...we care for all creatures... We do not hurt the stupid ones...even if they deserve it...._

Kagome shook her head, folding her napkin in her lap. "Inuyasha, will you just work with Miroku a little bit? The ball's tonight and you're acting like a kid." She frowned.

Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms. "I am not. I just think this whole thing is lying and that's total bullshit--"

"Manners at the table, Inuyasha," hissed Miroku.

"—and even if it will show Naraku, I don't see why I have to sink to that bastard's level."

"Somehow," sighed the monk, pouring himself a glass of cranberry juice, "I think Naraku would be the one sinking at this point. " Miroku tipped the glass's entire contents down his throat.

Smacking his lips, he suddenly wished it was wine; maybe that way he could dull the pain of approaching doom. It'd be inevitable that Sesshoumaru would make him 'mysteriously vanish without a trace' if this ball was botched because of Inuyasha. Miroku sighed.

Why did the stubborn hanyou have to be his responsibility?

Miroku was nowhere near ready to die yet. He had plans, hopes, dreams—hell, he was still attracting the ladies! Well, if Sesshoumaru did off him, at least he'd be remembered in his prime.

"Hey, all! How's it going!"

Kagome smiled, waving her hand at the seamstress loitering in the doorway. "Well, it could be a lot worse."

Mia shook her head, a hand resting on her abdomen. "Speaking of things that could be worse, I finished patching up your dress, Kagome. Since it's just the skirt, I don't think I'll need you to try it on. I used some ribbon and...well, I'll let you be surprised. You'll like the change."

"At least there is some productive change going on," Miroku sighed for the hundredth time. He plopped into a chair. "I think I'm going to need therapy after all this is said and done."

"What'll ya need therapy for?" inquired Inuyasha as he popped an entire petit fore into his mouth.

"So I won't end up killing you to make myself feel better...."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot!" Mia took a few steps into the room before leaning up against the wall. "Sesshoumaru saw how..._downhill_ your little training session was going."

Miroku visibly paled. "O-oh?" He managed a weak smile. There went any big, fat bonuses he was going to get...

"I don't think he's angry though. I think he found it rather humorous." She smiled at Miroku's murderous gaze. "In any case, he had me find another person who would be...suitable to teach someone as...ah..._politely challenged_ as Inuyasha."

Inuyasha snorted loudly, causing everyone to look at him. "And who exactly did you and Sesshoumaru employ?"

Mia smiled saccharinely sweet—Inuyasha swallowed; this couldn't be good. "Someone as equally stubborn as you. My husband."

Inuyasha sat dumbfounded for a moment before uttering one choked word: "Fuck."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I know. But hey, it wasn't a cliffhanger this time, was it? Ok, semi, maybe. In any case, this story should be coming to a close with...oh...maybe six chapters more? I'm guessing, obviously. There's now a one-shot collection for OaL now called "On a Leash: Emancipated" that has the behind-the-scenes-look to some of the workings in OaL. Finals are in two weeks so if I don't write a lot, well, you know why. Hoped you guys liked Sage, haha. You'll see more of him later.

Moonlight Shadow


	33. Mustard and Carrot Cake

Disclaimer: Do I honestly need to say it again now? Honestly.

A/N: Wow, the last time I wrote anything up here, it said I was working on finals..._first semester finals..._ Not cool, not cool. I took second semester finals as well, and am now finished with junior year. (I kept saying this was my hardest year...). See, I'm not dead.

**_Someone you should thank:_** You should all thank my wonderful editor, Notoes, for coaxing me to get back to this. After having this sit on my desktop for a few months, I wasn't motivated to work on it. Why? Because I thought my writing sucked, eheh. So, yes, thank her for getting my butt in gear. Depending on the response I get on this will probably determine how soon I get to writing the next chapter rather than getting totally caught up in _Out of This World_.

To the cousin of **Blackkirara**: I've never been asked out via review before, and I'm honestly flattered. I just already have someone who is in love with me, and that I am in love with. Thank you, though.

Quick things: **Sage is not like Kouga! Stop saying that!** (Sorry. I don't hate Kouga he just...irritates me...a lot.) Sage is Sage, and you'll find out a little more about my boy once I get this chapter actually started. I thought I already described him, but I guess I'll give him yet another intro. I don't think he'll mind.

And where the heck did someone get the idea there was 'passion' between Inuyasha and Kagome? There's never _been_ any passion of that genre in this story and that's not about to change. He slept in her room just like he used to at the Shrine. They're still very new to this whole expressing feelings for each other thing, and they're only uncertain teenagers; just because you kiss someone doesn't mean you're suddenly going to be fervent with each other all the time.

Kudos to those of you who caught the kiss-on-the-lips thing (I'll explore that avenue later); thank you for catching my error last time, but please, always remember to be kind.

Last thing before we start: Sage and Mia are from my actual series (in which they are still in high school and their occupations are different) and, yes, I did think their names up. There's a joke about Sage's name, which you'll all get to see.

_Chapter Thirty-Three: Mustard and Carrot Cake_

"Now, now, Inuyasha," laughingly chided Mia, stepping away from the door, "where are your manners?"

Inuyasha grunted indifferently, yet the entire group could see the look of wariness cross his face.

"So, where is he?" asked Kagome.

Mia smiled as Sage's voice smoothly replied, "Right here." Clad in a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved black tee-shirt, the blond-haired man entered the dining hall. He tucked a strand of his loose-curls behind his (currently) human ear with a great smile and a wave at the group.

"Sage is a half-demon, too," Kagome whispered to Miroku.

"Really?" He looked quizzically from Sage to his friend. "He looks as if he were totally human. Remarkable."

"Yeah," Sage agreed as he looped his arm around Mia's shoulders, "but my senses are still as keen. So...I'm supposed to help Inuyasha act more polite? Ha—this should be fun."

"Keh. I'll bet you don't know jack shit when it comes to this." Inuyasha crossed his arms as Sage smirked back, raising an eyebrow.

"Is this a challenge?"

"More of a fact."

Mia sighed, tugging on her husband's shirt. "Honey, please don't make this into a competition...or I'll be forced to hurt you."

Sage chuckled at her light, blasé tone. "Aw, don't worry, hon." He drew her to him gently before ducking down and giving her a peck on the lips. He smiled, kissing her forehead once. "Undeclared."

Inuyasha blinked. Undeclared?

Mia nodded at her husband and walked over to the table with him. He pulled the chair out for his wife, she thanked him, and he helped her scoot in. "That's called proper etiquette in reference to a lady. You got that, Inuyasha?" Sage sat down with surprising grace and snatched an apple from the basket. "You walk her to and from the table, unless she's going to the bathroom or something, and make sure her chair is pushed back."

"I understood that much," the younger hanyou snapped, to which Sage started growling, snatching a knife with slight annoyance and running it over the red skin of the fruit in his hand.

"Miroku," Mia said gently as she pushed herself away from the table, "why don't you go out and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours? Maybe go for a walk or something. Sage and I have it all under control here."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, that sounds like a fine idea." Miroku rose gratefully from the table. "Inuyasha, Kagome—I trust the two of you will behave. Best of luck." As he paced to the doorway, he couldn't help thinking that even if Sesshoumaru decided to make his life a living Hell after tonight, he'd at least walk down the primrose path beforehand.

"Come on, Kagome," Mia smiled. "Let's double check your dress."

Kagome got up and toddled after the older woman. "Ok."

Waiting until the girls disappeared into the hallway, Sage fixed a glower on Inuyasha. "Since I have to teach you to be a gentleman in less than twenty-four hours, you'd better pay attention." He drew the knife over the apple's skin again, eyes not leaving Inuyasha, like a hawk on its prey.

"And if I don't?"

"Well, then," the apple skin peeled in an even ribbon into Sage's palm, "Naraku's going to make a total fool out of you."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome and Mia had just finished going over the details of the 'improved' ball gown, to which the teenager had gleefully squealed over the seamstress's innovations, when they had decided to return to the dining hall. Now Kagome stood blinking bemusedly in the threshold while Mia sighed exasperatedly from the doorway.

The table was a mess, with strawberry jam, bits of bread roll, and cheese littering the tablecloth. Chairs had been thrown to the floor and amongst the wreckage; Sage and Inuyasha were having a sword fight with butter knives...

So much for manners in fine dining.

"They're not honestly..._dueling_ or something, are they, Mia?" Kagome looked back to the seamstress only to watch as the young woman strode resolutely ahead of her, seemingly unhearing. "Uh, Mia?"

"Oh, they are," she hissed. Just as Sage parried a thrust from Inuyasha's butter knife, Mia sharply yanked him by the collar of his shirt towards her. She released the fabric as he toppled rearwards and landed on his butt. "Sage!" His head snapped up to look at her. Mia was fuming. "I can't believe you! How can you start a fight with your cousin!"

"Cousin?" chorused Inuyasha and Sage simultaneously.

"Well, yes," Mia said calmly, "though far-removed..."

"Really?" inquired Sage, truly intrigued. "How'd you find that out?"

"When I was talking to Sesshoumaru earlier."

"Huh... Who woulda thunk it?"

"I don't know, but...that still doesn't excuse your behavior. _Either_ of your behavior! What is wrong with you two morons?"

Inuyasha's dog ears had collapsed against his head as her voice rose to a shout. Through a squinted eye he could see her dark brown eyes flicker to reddish-gold. He vaguely wondered if she was part demon, too. He glimpsed at Sage, who seemed to be taking this fairly well, but it was growing more and more evident that, he too, was getting annoyed.

When Mia took a break in the middle of her, "I can't believe you would start a _food_ _fight_ just because he made fun of you for looking human!" speech, Sage leapt to his feet, sapphire eyes crackling to a dark ruby. He used his advantage of height over her and hollered back, right into his wife's face, "Why the hell are you yelling at me for?"

"Because you're an idiot!"

"_I'm _an idiot? _You're_ the one who wanted to marry me!"

Mia ground her teeth, before turning to the young betrothed couple—who were now standing side-by-side with wide, disbelieving eyes—with a painfully sweet expression on her face, "We'll be right back."

The pair watched as the older couple crossed noiselessly into the hallway, Sage allowing Mia to go ahead of him before shutting the double doors with a bang.

Inuyasha glimpsed helplessly at the butter knife prior to tossing it onto the mess of strawberry jam in the center of the table, whistling innocently; suddenly, inciting Kagome's wrath didn't seem all that enticing. Today was a nice day to play it safe with women, he decided. "So, do you think they're done?"

As soon as the question slipped out of his mouth and his fiancée turned to answer, a new yell brusquely broke the air.

"YOU'RE BEING MEAN!" they heard Mia shout.

"WELL YOU'RE BEING AN UNBELIEVABLE BITCH TODAY! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?"

"What's my problem, Sage? I'M LOOKING AT IT!"

"ME! Like I said, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO MARRY ME!"

"MAYBE I FELT PITY ON YOU ALL THESE YEARS!"

"Wow..." whispered Kagome to Inuyasha. "And I always thought they were happy together."

"Yeah," agreed the half-demon as the volume quieted to a harried murmur. "Me too. Hey, Kagome?"

The girl peered back at him. "Yeah?"  
He gingerly took her hand into his. "When we get married, let's not fight like that, ok?"

Kagome's gaze softened. "You...you brought it up...you know... The marriage thing..."

"Yeah, so, what's your point?" he asked gruffly, averting his eyes from hers.

Kagome smiled, squeezing his hand. "We won't fight like that...and...I'm glad you brought that up, Inuyasha."

His ear twitched towards her and he turned to face her. "How come?"

She shrugged, blushing lightly. "I wasn't sure what you thought of the idea now... I mean...we could—"

"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!"

"I'm tired of fighting with you, Sage."

"WE'RE NOT FINISHED YET!"

"...GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU JERK! LET ME GO!"

"NO!"

"LET GO!"

"NO!"

The resounding sound of flesh-meeting-flesh cracked into the room.

The couple looked to the door (and cursing Fate again as it toyed with their timing) as everything went dead-silent. Waiting a minute or so, the silence remained, sans the odd muffled noise.

"Do you think he killed her something?" Kagome found herself asking.

Inuyasha, equally curious, responded, "I dunno. We should probably check."

With mounting worry, Kagome and Inuyasha slunk to the closed doors. They lingered for a moment to brace for...whatever they saw before swinging one door open and poking their heads through.

The hanyou's jaw dropped as he blinked. "What the...?"

His fiancée simply drawled a noncommittal, "Um..."

Sage was hugging Mia to his chest, rubbing her back. His wife had her arms thrown over his shoulders and was currently kissing his cheek, which was a vibrant pink.

"I'm sorry I slapped you, Sage," she murmured before moving her lips up to kiss his temple. "I'm really sorry, I just really was angry with you, and..."

He nodded slightly. "I know, babe, it's ok. I deserved it. I was in your face; I should have just left you alone and not grabbed your wrist. You forgive me?"

Mia smiled at him. "Yeah, I forgive you." She finally moved her lips to place them on his, and after a long kiss, whispered, "I really am happy I married you. I married you because I love you. You know that right?"

"Of course." He gave her another short peck on the lips before turning his attention to the young couple in the doorway. "What? Where you expecting one of us to be dead or something?" he laughed.

"Uh..." the pair droned.

"Sweetheart," Sage looked down to his wife when she beckoned, "I'm, ah, getting a craving."

"For what?"

"Um...frozen carrot cake."

"Carrot cake?" Sage blinked quizzically.

"Frozen carrot cake," Mia corrected. "Oh! And mustard!"

Sage did a double-take. "Mustard?" His jaw hung agape slightly.

She thought for a moment before bobbing her head decisively with a smile. "Yup. That's all."

Scratching the back of his neck for a moment, Sage chuckled lightly at his wife's rather innocent face. "All right, I'll go down to the store and get you something. And you – " he jerked his thumb to Inuyasha, "you're coming with me. We need to talk, man-to-man."

Inuyasha blew out his cheeks slightly before letting out a resigned, "Yeah, yeah."

Mia smiled before letting go of her husband, giving him a peck on the cheek and saying, "Kagome and I will clean up the mess you made."

"Sounds like a good idea...and sorry 'bout that." Sage smiled apologetically before stealing one last kiss from his wife and heading down the hall. "Let's go, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked to Kagome, who smiled encouragingly at him with a nod, and stalked after the older hanyou. He eventually fell in step with Sage near the end of the hall. Even so, Sage continued to hum some nameless tune to himself with his hands in his pockets and did not speak until they reached the grand entryway.

They both kicked off their house slippers and stepped into their shoes by the door. Sage tapped his boots once before snatching the black leather jacket hanging on the coat stand and slipping it on.

Curious, Inuyasha followed him. As he stepped into the noontime sun, Inuyasha stared in wonderment at the shiny motorcycle parked neatly on the crest of the villa's circle drive. "Is that yours...?"

Sage smirked. "Yeah. Mia's dad gave it to me when I turned sixteen." He lifted his helmet from where it was suspended from one of the handlebars.

"Her dad? Why didn't yours give it to you?"

Bowing his head, Sage slid the helmet on and flipped down the visor before answering. "My old man walked out on me...I didn't meet him until my sixteenth birthday... He never knew me beforehand. He was too busy with his wife and new kids." He swung one leg over the bike.

Inuyasha stared, surprised, but keeping his mouth in a grim line. "Still bitter about it, eh?"

He adjusted his position, hands gripped tightly onto the handlebars. "Yeah, but I've got Mia in my life and a pup on the way—my old man is the least of my worries now. The past can't be changed, Inuyasha, but my future is something I can look forward to. It's unknown, and while I can't plan for it, I sure as hell can be prepared. I know that, no matter what, Mia will always be by my side, and I will be by hers." He turned the key, and the motorcycle roared to life. "I'd give you a lift on this, Inuyasha, but I think I'll make you run alongside for now."

"The hell...!" Inuyasha balked. That motorcycle was so enticing. He really wanted to take it for a ride of his own.

There was a smirk in Sage's voice. "Maybe I'll let you ride it later. For now, I don't want to be held responsible for the off-chance that I crash and your head makes brain soup on the roadway." Knocking back the kickstand with a foot, he revved the engine once. "Ready, cousin?" He didn't wait for a response before zooming down the path.

Inuyasha watched for a moment before smirking as well and speeding after on foot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome looked on as Mia hummed softly to herself, using a wet rag to clean some of the mess from the table cloth. "Um, Mia...?"

The young woman looked up. "Yes, dear. What is it?"

"Uh..." Kagome scuffed her slipper over the floor. "Do you and Sage always fight like that?"

Mia tipped her head before laughing. Her face settled into a comfortable smile as she removed various objects from the table cloth, simultaneously rolling it up as she went along. "No, not really. We get along very well, actually. It's just a matter that, sometimes, we butt heads. Marriage isn't an easy life, and it's not always rosy. But even so..." She wiped another deposit of the assorted mess of jelly and butter, letting her hand linger there, thoughtfully. "I wouldn't change it for the world."

Kagome nodded slightly. She toddled over to help the seamstress finish tidying up the table. They could have used the servants but they were all so hopping-busy that it was probably for the best they were cleaning up themselves Kagome figured.

The room was filled with an odd quiet, with the exception of Mia's humming, and Kagome glanced around rather worriedly. Tonight was the night of the ball. Tonight she and Inuyasha would confront Naraku...

A shiver ran down her spine. She had a bad feeling.

Even so, Kagome shook her head; she didn't want to think about anything negative right now. She was troubled enough as it was and dwelling on it more probably wasn't going to help matters.

So, instead, she decided to ask the seamstress another question. "So, how long have you known Sage?"

"Too long," Mia laughed in response. "I'll put it this way, Kagome," she stepped away from the table and looked towards the girl, "We've known each other so long that I used to beat up Sage when we were kids."

Kagome giggled. "You were always close, huh?"

"Yeah... He was always the love of my life." Mia handed the tablecloth off to one of the servants who came into lend a hand.

Kagome looked down slightly. "I always hoped I'd find the right guy. You know, after a few years of getting to know each other and dating... Hm?" She peered up again to follow Mia with her eyes as she moved away from the now-clean table.

The seamstress took a seat in one of the chairs near the window and motioned to the other across from her.

Slowly, Kagome walked over and sat down, while the servants finished the rest of the cleaning.

"Kagome, you were waiting for the long courtship sort of thing, weren't you? The 'normal' way of becoming engaged."

"I just wanted to fall in love like a normal person, is all..."

Mia nodded slightly. "Just because you didn't meet in the most conventional of ways doesn't make your love any less meaningful or any less real. It just means you were different, and different can be very, very good." She smiled gently, touching a hand to Kagome's arm. "So, just...go with it. Love comes as it does. Sometimes the most extraordinary love is for the most extraordinary people."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sage whistled as he walked out of the small grocery store, his quarry swinging to and fro in his plastic bag, while Inuyasha followed behind him, one eyebrow quirked. Smiling lightly as some children ran past towards the beach, Sage glanced back at his cousin. "Why do you look so sour?"

"I don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"How you can be a total ass one minute and be Mr. Nice Guy the next."

Grinning, Sage replied, "What can I say? I'm a complex person." Inuyasha simply snorted as Sage stopped by an ice cream vendor and bought two vanilla cones. Handing one to Inuyasha, he ambled over to the docks and promptly sat down. He waited until his cousin dropped unceremoniously beside him. "I know you and I didn't get off on the right foot, but I will say that I just want this stupid ball to go over well."

Inuyasha grunted and took a lick of his ice cream. "...So, you really think this manners thing is gonna help?"

Sage nodded. "Absolutely. It looks good, and basically tells this Naraku guy that you can beat him on any play field, ya know?"

"Guess you're right."

"I usually am."

They stared out at the ocean. Sunlight sparkled off it, and boats cut through it as they headed towards various destinations. The smell of sea salt assaulted both hanyous noses, as did the scents wafting down from the villa.

Inuyasha closed his eyes for a minute. Though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he was getting nervous. And when he got nervous, he got argumentative and snappish – Inuyasha knew that. He'd always been that way. It wouldn't exactly be easy for Kagome, either, but he felt guilty; she'd never had a choice in this matter.

If there had been a way to free her from having to marry him...would he?

The real reason for them being together was to protect the Shikon no Tama, primarily, so once that was safely out of Naraku's grasp, there'd be no reason for her to stay. She could get on with her life, and be normal.

But, deep down, Inuyasha knew he didn't want that. He knew he cared about her, and he couldn't think of life not with her – she'd become such a big part of his life over the past several months – but... Did he love her?

Inuyasha opened his eyes, sighing slightly.

He was pretty sure he did, but...the words just seemed to get stuck in his throat. He just couldn't say them. The more and more he thought about the ball tonight, the more and more he wondered if Kikyou would be with Naraku... If, when he looked in Kikyou's eyes, he'd see _her_ again and...

_No,_ he shook his head,_ that's enough. Stop thinking about that. It'll only cause trouble. That old adage of "Thinking negatively will cause bad things to happen" just might come true._ He glanced over to his fair-haired cousin; his jacket was off and his groceries were resting on top of it, and he seemed to just be staring into the abyss. "Hey, Sage."

"Hm?" He turned his blue eyes over to Inuyasha, finishing the last bite of his ice cream cone (it then occurred to Inuyasha that he must have polished off his while he was thinking).

"What's the deal with you and Mia?"

Stretching his arms above his head, Sage let out a pensive sigh. "Well, we just love each other. Not much more to it than that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love getting the chance to protect her, but Mia's not exactly a damsel in distress. I think," he looked down smiling at the ocean as it lapped against the posts beneath the dock in wavering circles, "she saved me in a lot of ways."

Inuyasha watched Sage's movements intently. "Whaddya mean?"

"I wouldn't be who I am without her. She's taught me how to love and to care, and she's always encouraged me and believed in me when no one else did." He hunched forward and rested his folded arms on his knees. "She agreed to marry me and give me a child – the pup thing is a running gag between us, just like I'm more of a bumbling fool than a wise man. I'm the un-sagely Sage." He went quiet for a moment as the sounds of the small ocean town rang through the pair's ears. Inuyasha watched him expectantly. "For all she's done...I owe her my life."

Inuyasha blinked once. "...You think she's done all that?"

In the back of his mind, Inuyasha remembered what Mia had said to him: _"Behind every great man, Inuyasha, there is a great woman who will push him towards that greatness."_

Sage smiled lightly. "All that and more. Obligation is one thing, and love is another. Mia gave me a reason to follow my heart and do the right thing. I'm sure you feel that way about Kagome, Inuyasha, even if you won't admit it."

Opening and closing his mouth once, Inuyasha just snorted, but didn't deny it.

Shuffling backwards, Sage stood up and picked up the groceries and his jacket. "Come on, Inuyasha. Let's get back before my wife's cravings get really bad. Oh, and I'll even let you ride the motorcycle back." He grinned.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sage and Inuyasha returned with Mia's mustard and carrot cake, to which she hugged them both tightly, and ate her food quickly – the carrot cake still frozen. From there, she and Sage had gotten back to work with finishing up their etiquette class. Thankfully, Inuyasha seemed to have a turnaround and was acting like quite the perfect gentleman.

Kagome simply beamed.

By the end of the lesson, the couple was acting flawlessly poised, and their teachers couldn't be happier. The ball would start in three hours, so Kagome and Inuyasha had to prepare. They walked Sage and Mia to the front door.

"Thank you so much," Kagome said, reaching out and hugging Mia again.

"Oh, it wasn't a problem – really," the seamstress assured.

Sage smirked as he snagged Kagome around the shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Agreed."

"Well, you kids be careful tonight, ok?"

Inuyasha looked at Mia quizzically. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yes. But, you two must realize – I'm sorry if this'll give you the jitters – but Naraku, and whomever he brings with him, will be paying attention to _you two_, and probably Sesshoumaru and Kagura." Mia touched a hand to her husband's arm. "Sage and I will be there for moral support, but I have faith in you two." She smiled gently.

Sage nodded. "Absolutely. Now, scoot your butts inside and get ready. We'll see you in a few hours."

Kagome smiled. "All right. Thank you and see you soon!" She grabbed Inuyasha's wrist as he said, "Let's go!"

Watching as the doors shut after the young couple, Mia and Sage exchanged a slow smile. Standing on her toes she gave him a soft kiss to his lips. "So, love...?"

"Yes?" Sage looped an arm around her waist as they made their way to where the motorcycle and her car waited.

"Do you think they thought that was a real fight?"

He chuckled. "Probably." He pulled her close and gave her a squeeze.

"Oh well." Mia laid her head on his chest, laughing softly. "I'd say our plan worked."

"Mm-hmm. Showed them how not to act. Now to make sure that Naraku doesn't try and pull a fast one tonight..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: -dies- Tired... At least I finished this chapter. I do hope everyone likes this, and that I will get more motivation to write more on this. (And I'm now 18. Happy me).

Now to continue working on _Out of This World_ and download _Final Fantasy VIII_ music.

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. Please excuse any 'bumpiness' in this chapter...like I said – staring at it for months on end makes one's brain go "duhhhh..." Oh, and since there's nothing really wrong in this story, with the exception of language, I'm thinking of dropping the rating here (FF-dot-net) back to T (PG-13).


	34. The Debutante

**A/N: **Wow, where _has _the time gone? Senior year has kept me _unbelievably_ busy. Lit club president duties, Christmas baskets, royal court practice for madrigal, scholarships, a new boyfriend and a promise ring, college acceptance letter, and monetary things...it's no wonder I'm a bit under the weather today. Seems like I scarcely have time to even breathe anymore – and don't even get me started on Creative Writing last semester...teacher wanted me to write a play before Christmas Break began. Thank goodness I've only a month left to go!

**EDIT: **And now I'm out of high school! Yay! I start college this month. There really has been a lot and I'm sorry this chapter won't be too long, but hopefully, it'll tide you over to the next one. I'm going to finish this fan fiction, I promise. I just have had a lot to do. But, at the end of this chapter, I'll talk a little about my **original writing project** and where and how to check it out.

_Chapter Thirty-Four: The Debutante_

The villa buzzed with activity. Since seven o'clock, prestigious families had been arriving at the gate and up the drive. The transformation over the entire mansion had been astounding, like something out of a fairytale. With the romantic lighting, long candles of white held in golden candelabras and with the delicate splashes of deep red about – a sign of the Tanaka family –, the ballroom was the jewel of the entire house.

Mia and Sage had shown up in rather defining style – skidding to a stop by the valet on Sage's motorcycle while still looking as elegant and refined as the other guests arriving in limos, if only a bit more flush-faced and friendly.

Kagura was keeping the house in order, i.e. ordering Jaken about, who was already at his wits' end. Most of the staff mused it was for their lady's personal diversions, but no one said anything of it. She kept Sango and Miroku hopping, and it did not go unnoticed to Miroku the sigh and longing look Sango gave at every pass of her room. It wasn't until an hour before the ball, which would start promptly at nine o'clock, that the pair was given leave to prepare.

"Are you all right, Sango?" asked Miroku as they made their way down the hall to their rooms.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired." She passed a hand over her forehead. "I understand all the preparation of this, but still, Miroku, aren't you at all worried about tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

She stopped and Miroku did with her. Facing him, she reasoned, "We have no idea what Naraku might do in order to make Sesshoumaru look bad – but more than that, make Inuyasha and Kagome look bad."

"That's true. Still, as we have no idea," he placed his hands on her shoulders, "we shouldn't trouble ourselves too much with it. For now, Sango, we have to focus on what's going on right now, and let things fall where they may."

Sango moved her gaze to where his hands gripped her shoulders and then down to the floor with a nod. "All right... I should probably go help Kagome get ready," she said, starting to turn away but Miroku grabbed her hand and held her fast. "What? Miroku?"

He gave a soft grin and a laugh. "Kagome will be fine. But I know of another beautiful young lady who needs to get ready." He nodded at her door. "Go on, Sango. Relax for a little bit."

"But, Miroku – "

"Please...? For me?"

Sango worried her lip for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "All right. But at least check on Inuyasha, then. You never know what kind of trouble he can get himself in."

Releasing her hand with a flourish, Miroku dropped into a bow. "Your wish is my command, Lady Sango. I shall go see what Lord Half-Wit is doing." He flashed a playful smirk at her before taking her hand again and kissing the back of it. "My Lady..."

Giving a surprised blink, Sango watched Miroku as he walked down the hall, humming some random tune to himself. Looking at her hand, she moved it over her faster-beating heart. "That Miroku..." But as the dreamy, romantic thoughts began to tendril about her head, she allowed herself a quiet smile and made her way into her room.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Inuyasha frowned slightly at his reflection as he loosened the crimson tie that threatened to choke him. "Don't even consider taking that off," came Sesshoumaru's edged voice from behind him. Inuyasha simply frowned more.

"I...can't..._stand..._this...thing...!" growled the young hanyou as he finally yanked the tie off and tossed it to the floor.

"Surely you cannot be that much of a simpleton as to not be able to figure out how to wear a simple _tie,_ Inuyasha."

"It's not that I can't wear one, it's just a fucking pain in the ass and I don't wanna wear it!" He shot a glare at his brother. "It's already bad enough I'm in this damn monkey suit – the tie's crossing the line, Sesshoumaru."

Before older brother could rebuff younger brother, Miroku stepped into the room. "Ah, Inuyasha, you look...heated." Miroku suppressed a laugh, but his lips continued to twitch into a semi-smirk.

"Oh, give it a rest." Inuyasha turned back to the mirror, brushing off his sleeves. The rich black of the tuxedo brought out the color of the hanyou's hair and complimented his gold eyes just as well. From ruby-studded cufflinks to shined dress shoes, Inuyasha really was a piece of work.

Miroku had always prided himself as the lady's man of the outfit – "outfit" being Inuyasha, Sango, Kagome, and of course his magnificence – but he had to admit Mia had done a splendid job of making Inuyasha the envy of all the men and want of all the women. If only he had more resisted the temptation of groping that luscious backside of hers...

Nevertheless, with the cleaned-up hanyou grumbling with the sourest expression mortally possible, Miroku couldn't help but feel the bigger man.

"So, are you ready?" he asked, dusting off his own tux. Inuyasha grumbled in response. "Wonderful! Now then, Kagura is already downstairs greeting people, Sesshoumaru, and Kagome is almost finished, Inuyasha."

"Almost finished? How much time does that woman _need_?"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Miroku raised a hand. "Never rush a woman, Inuyasha. Besides, I believe it was just a little hair and make-up trouble."

Inuyasha's eyes flashed with alarm. "Jakotsu wasn't brought back, was he?"

"No." Miroku smirked as Inuyasha let out a silent breath of relief. "Another stylist is taking care of that. I assure you, Kagome will be out soon enough, and surely she will be radiant."

Laying a hand on his friend's shoulder, Miroku steered Inuyasha away from the mirror. With expert speed that even the hanyou didn't catch, Miroku had knotted the tie tolerably at Inuyasha's throat and was leading him out of the room.

Miroku was giving Inuyasha a sort of "prep talk," but the hanyou's mind couldn't be further from his own body than it was now. A gnawing feeling tore at his gut and he knew something was going to happen tonight, even if he didn't know what exactly. So, dazed, he was lead down the hall with only a half-lucid thought in his distant brain to the ballroom.

Golden light sparkled and dazzled his eyes but it was like something out of a dream – everything was too bright and rich, too creamy and too...unreal. Sage and Mia waved from across the room, Sage giving a thumbs up. A few couples were swirling about the floor, like runny paint on canvas they blended before Inuyasha's vision.

He declined a glass of wine and kept his distance from the heart of the throng – more were standing around and chattering glibly than dancing to the small group of musicians tastefully tucked in the scenic corner to Inuyasha's right. The lulling tune sounded far off, yet it was comforting at the same time.

Reporters flitted about the room, being halfway conspicuous as a few more of the daring dogs – no pun intended – prowled closer to the lone hanyou; Miroku had disappeared when they had reached the doorway to meet up with Sango, who had been clad in a flattering emerald dress.

There were so many scents, so many sounds, and it was rather intimidating for Inuyasha – not that _he'd_ ever admit that. He only recognized a handful of people but Inuyasha wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there – even more than ripping that annoying tie savagely from his personage.

The music slowly faded away and the talking fell into a lull; all faces were turned towards the front where Sesshoumaru and Kagura stood on the marble landing, regal as ever. Sesshoumaru's eyes surveyed the crowd for a moment and he locked onto his brother's. Inuyasha felt the molten gaze and it tugged him from his foreboding reverie.

"Tonight we gather to celebrate my young brother's engagement announcement. Inuyasha, will you come up here?"

Normally, the hanyou would've snapped at being ordered – albeit, _politely_ – to do something, especially by Sesshoumaru, but instead he drifted his way up there. He could feel the eyes of the guests on him, scrutinizing every detail; even so, he walked with shoulders squared and chin lifted high with pride. He turned to face the crowd, standing beside Sesshoumaru.

With a nod, Sesshoumaru announced, "And now, for my brother's fiancée."

A few seconds went by before gasps and murmured comments began to whisper over the guests. All heads were turned and tilted upwards. Some of the men stared in awe and a few of the women's eyes shown with jealousy. Inuyasha turned and everything seemed to freeze.

The soft pink of the dress brought out the softness in Kagome's features along with the deep blue-black of her hair. Where the rent in her dress had been, Mia had improvised with ivory ribbon that seemed to writhe along the new seam and then widely encircled Kagome's waist, accentuating her hips.

The Shikon no Tama glowed gently at her neck and seemed to illuminate that slight smile on her lips. She was poised at the top of the grand staircase, surveying the crowd with as much grace as royalty, but the same trademark nervousness made her undeniably Kagome.

With measured steps, a hand lifting the wide sweep of her gown, she descended the marble stairs – the whiteness of the lilies fastened to the banisters was even lighter than the marble. Finally, she came around and stood beside Inuyasha, letting the hem of her gown drop.

Sesshoumaru's voice clipped the awestruck people. "This is Higurashi Kagome. She and my younger brother will marry within the next four years, and as such, they will be able to claim Inuyasha's rightful inheritance."

Kagura lifted her wine glass, the claret drink the same color as her gown, and said quietly, "Why don't we all congratulate the happy couple with a toast?" She paused as everyone raised their glasses high, giving a half-smirk half-smile to the pair. "To Inuyasha and Kagome."

The guests murmured congratulations of the same, sipped, and clapped.

"Are we off display yet...?" growled Inuyasha in an undertone to his brother.

"In front of the grand audience, yes."

Inuyasha nodded before looking to Kagome and holding out his palm to her. The girl blushed prettily over the bridge of her nose before accepting his hand. He smiled slightly and lead her down to the floor. "You...look really nice..." he mumbled.

"Oh..." Kagome averted her gaze. "Th-thank you."

Leading her down to the ballroom floor, Inuyasha and Kagome were assaulted by various guests. The pair handled the accosting as well as they but, luckily for them, the Hishinumas, Shippou's family, had helped to drive them off.

"Back off! Give them some room! Don't make them suffocate!" Shippou had commanded while the pair slipped over to where the band was playing. (Kagome had also caught an odd mumbling from Shippou as she and Inuyasha hurried by. It was something that sounded oddly like..."boogie man hunter").

They shared a smile of relief but it was short-lived as a call of, "Kagome," caught their attention.

"Hm?" Kagome looked up and blinked. "Oh, hello, Kouga."

Inuyasha growled quietly as Kouga made his way over, dressed in a smart, navy tux with his hair held back in a loose plait. "What do you want?" the hanyou asked, narrowing his eyes. When Kouga stared at him curiously – _stupidly is more like it..._ –, Inuyasha half-wished he was a dog again if, for nothing else, to be able to bite and urinate on the wolf-demon once more.

Oh the temptation to do so even now...

...Maybe his dog instincts were just a bit boosted.

...Stupid doggy affinity...

Kouga smirked. "You look lovely as ever, Kagome, but who is that mongrel you're with?"

_Mongrel...? _The hanyou's eye twitched. "I'm her fiancé, twit." Inuyasha snorted as their gazes met, daggers shooting between them. "Didn't you just hear the announcement Sesshoumaru made?"

Kouga picked at his ear for a moment before flicking a claw. "What? Oh, yeah, that, but I wasn't really looking. Announcements put me to sleep. So you're his brother? And you're marrying Kagome?"

"Yeah, that's right. That's usually what the terms 'fiancé' and 'engaged' mean, you shi—"

"Inuyasha...!" Kagome warned, giving him a look as her hand grabbed his elbow.

For a moment, Kouga's blue eyes moved between the couple until finally resting on the girl. "Oh, Kagome..."

"Eh?"

In a flash, he'd grasped both of her hands in his, and Inuyasha was waving his arms to keep his balance. "Are they making you do this, Kagome? Is he forcing you into this?"

"Er, well..." Kagome felt sweat creeping down her neck. _It's a bit more complicated than that, Kouga..._

"If that's the thing," his gaze found hers heatedly, "you can stay with me – marry me, Kagome, and I will take care of you!"

Inuyasha went to pound a fist on Kouga's wrists but the wolf-demon moved his hands out of the way just in time. "Oh sure, and _that_ little speech you gave didn't sound a bit self-serving in the least." He snorted again. "Keh, you make me sick."

Kouga glared at him, and a long growl was shared between them. "Your eyes..."

"Yeah, what about them?"

It was Kouga's turn to snort now. "They look really familiar...like I've seen them somewhere before with my beautiful Kagome."  
"_Your_ Kagome...?" hissed Inuyasha in disbelief. "Why you..."

The wolf-demon continued, processing this. "Yeah...and...your name is what, again? Inuyasha? Inuyasha... Inuyasha...that sounds so familiar." He turned to the girl. "Hey, Kagome isn't your dog's name Inu—"

"Kouga, how about we dance?" she said quickly. Both boys stared at her, and Kouga smiled.

"Of course." He snatched one of her hands and lead her out into the throng once more.

The girl glanced back helpless at Inuyasha. "Sorry," she mouthed.

Inuyasha crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "Oh sure, dance with the stupid wolf..."

It was just a stupid dance, right? It shouldn't matter if Kagome danced the first dance with him, right? She was only dancing with him so he wouldn't blab to the world that Inuyasha was formerly known as her dog, right? So why did it matter? She was still going to stick with him in the end...

...Right?

Inuyasha shuddered at that questioning thought and instead stared at his feet as a moving piece started up by the band. Despite the fact Kouga was here, the ball didn't seem so bad. It could've been much worse.

When he looked up, Inuyasha could see Sango and Miroku were happily twirling around and around and even Kaede had shown up; the old veterinarian was over talking with Sesshoumaru and dressed in a simple, red dress.

Inuyasha was both glad to see her and glad that she'd chosen to wear something age appropriate.

He could still remember once, when he was a dog, seeing one dowdy-looking middle-aged woman strutting by him, wearing something that Kagome would've been able to pull off.

...He hadn't looked at a yellow fire hydrant the same since then.

Shrugging that memory off, Inuyasha felt himself gazing around the ballroom once more. He was pleased to see that Kagome's annoying school friends – Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi – had not been invited. Of course, they could've come if Kagome had wanted, but he figured his fiancée had the forethought that they would – well, the former pair, anyway – would use it as a dress-up day and probably be far more embarrassing than he could ever be.

And speaking of embarrassing, look at that Kouga. Whirling around with Kagome, as if he owned the entire ballroom, as if _he _was the one marrying her... Inuyasha growled.

Damn that wolf-demon.

If it weren't for this whole stupid ball, Inuyasha would've marched over there and socked that cocky bastard and send him flying from here to Croatia at least.

The music continued to be upbeat yet wistful and as much as he tried not to think of it again, the fact that his fiancée was dancing with Kouga made his heart drop down to the pit of his gut.

He could see their mouths moving, but he couldn't make out what was being said from here – and Inuyasha had never had the patience to be a lip-reader. The depression at that made his mouth droop into a self-pitying grimace that reached to his eyes. _I wonder what they're talking about..._

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So, you're really going to go through with this, Kagome?"

"Yes, Kouga, I am."

"Are you sure? I heard it was arranged."

"It is. But I don't mind."

"Kagome... Is this what you really want?"

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip reflexively, even though her mind scolded her not to muss up the lipstick there.

Was marrying Inuyasha _really _what she wanted?

By marrying him – that rude, arrogant, proud hanyou –, she would never have a chance to do any of the normal things in life. Heck, they hadn't even had a real first date yet, and, as she looked into Kouga's oceanic eyes, she knew that he would give her all the normal comforts of a regular teenage relationship.

_But...it wouldn't be with Inuyasha..._

"Yes, I'm sure, Kouga." The girl was whirled around, her gown billowing about her and drifting back to her as her partner drew her back in. She landed against Kouga's chest and he held her closely, his eyes intense.

"Kagome, do you..." The wolf-demon swallowed thickly. "...do you love him?" The girl didn't answer and her gaze kept to his lips. Kouga nodded, feeling the pang of rejection grip him. "Well," he said, trying keep an air of his normal confidence and nonchalance, "if he makes you happy, Kagome, that's really what matters to me."

The music stopped and Kagome hugged Kouga tightly. "Thank you, Kouga, so much... You're a good friend."

Kouga's lips moved into a wry smile. "I'll always be your friend."

"I'm glad." Then the girl pulled away, glimpsing back to give a smile, before making her way back to Inuyasha.

The wolf-demon watched her go before walking over to find a place to recline on an empty wall. He grabbed a glass of champagne as he passed a waiter and took a sip. Up from his right, he could see his friends, Ginta and Hakkaku, coming over.

"Hey, Kouga," greeted Ginta. "You all right?"

"Yeah," rejoined Hakkuku, " we saw what happened."

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, I'll be all right but...you think I could get some time alone to think." The two stared at him disbelievingly – and he wondered why he invited them with him – so he stared back. "Am I not allowed to think or what?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," the stuttered together before disappearing into the throng.

_Kagome..._ The wolf-demon thought, catching the girl talking with Inuyasha; the couple smiled. _I hope that you really are happy..._

He went to take another sip from his glass when, with a squeal, something bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" a female voice amended.

"It's all right, no damage done." Kouga peered down to see a vaguely-familiar head of red hair. "Hey...do I know you?"

The head waggled and then looked up, green eyes meeting his. "Oh! Kouga!" The girl smiled prettily. "I'm Tsukina's daughter, Ayame."

"Ayame...I remember you."

She smiled. "I'm glad..."

Kouga's gaze moved over to where Kagome was but both she and Inuyasha were gone. He looked to Ayame. "Hey...would you like to dance?"

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Kagome laughed softly as she and Inuyasha glided along the ballroom. Initially, Inuyasha had started to ask her what she and Kouga had talked about, but a very drunk guest had tried to plant his lips on Kagome.

The man had been whisked off to one of the guest rooms to sleep off both that hangover he was sure to have as well as the throbbing in his right cheek he'd have from being slugged.

Inuyasha was still grumbling about it, and hence the source of Kagome's giggling.

"I still can't believe you hit him!"

"Why wouldn't I? Serves him right for trying to kiss up on unsuspecting women."

Kagome shook her head at that, but their shared mirth was ended when Miroku came skidding up to them – nearly knocking over the pair as he tried to stop.

"Sorry," he amended. "But, Naraku just showed up with a bunch of reporters and a guest." The young man's violet eyes flickered over to Inuyasha briefly. "Be prepared for a big entrance."

The couple nodded as Miroku hastened off, joining up with Sango at one of the side doors.

Inuyasha snorted. "Just like Naraku to show up gaudily."

Kagome glanced to her fiancée and she felt his grip on her waist strengthen. _He's as freaked out as I am..._ She moved her eyes to where Miroku and Sango stood sentry; guests were mumbling and making starting to part. Reporters, dressed for the occasion, began to enter. _I don't even know what this Naraku is even like... I almost wonder if what business I have here. Wasn't Naraku the guy that Inuyasha lost..._

The hall had gone silent as Onigumo Naraku stepped through the doorway, clad in black but in clothes just as fine as Sesshoumaru's. His crimson eyes scanned over the crowd and smirked. "Thank you for inviting me, Sesshoumaru." The collective gaze moved to the elegant dog-demon and his wife who stood at the end of the parted throng. "And you as well...Inuyasha..."

Naraku's eyes flashed as they passed over the hanyou, and Inuyasha barely suppressed a growl.

"Come on, let's go stand over by Sesshoumaru and Kagura," urged Kagome, leading him over to the older couple.

"Yes, do join them, Inuyasha," hissed Naraku as the couple reached their destination. "And, I haven't completely forgotten my manners. I have an old friend..."

Kagome's eyes widened as Naraku held a hand behind him and a feminine hand slipped into his. Slowly, a beautiful, lithe woman came into view. Her simple cobalt dress still hung elegantly from her pale shoulders.

Or perhaps the elegance was from the woman herself who smiled coolly to the room. She began her promenade down the open strip towards them, and Kagome chanced a glance to her fiancée.

Inuyasha's eyes were wide for a moment, before sharpening in color and narrowing. Still, a mixture of sadness and anger played in his golden irises as they approached. His lips twitched and his hand also fractionally grew tighter and tighter around Kagome's.

Finally, Naraku and the woman stood before them.

"Inuyasha..." the woman greeted softly, eyes glittering as they met his.

Kagome's heart stopped and she knew before Inuyasha said a word in response.

"Kikyou."

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N:** Sheesh, so much formatting to do – and perhaps some editing. But look! I know it's been a year but I hope this chapter suffices. I will do better, I promise! –bows head before getting to her knees, and doing a low bow of apology- Sorry, sorry, sorry! –gets up- All right, well, I know, evil cliffy, but...you know you like it.

I hope you liked the Kouga scene – just wanted some "closure" about him and Kagome so that's why I mentioned Ayame and everything. Plus, it's also the fact I've grown rather fond of Kouga in the recent chapters of the manga. It also helps that my dear friend Jazz and my wonderful boyfriend Zach both like that cocky wolf-demon.

I think I do too.

Almost 2000 reviews on FF-dot-com. Wow. I am...just...wow. Thank you all so much.

Now, as for the original stuff, you can check out my FictionPress bio or my journal entry stuff on my deviantART account (both are linked on my bio). The series has no name yet there but there's a trio: **"Synonymous with Destiny," "The Prisoner," **and **"The Lost."** The last two are the most related – the first is just a tester.

Also, **see my bio page for new fan art!** Thank you all so much, hopefully I'll update _OaL: Emancipated _soon, but I appreciate your kindness, you patience, and most of all, your love for this story.

See you all really soon!

Moonlight Shadow

P.S. I hope you didn't have to re-read much.


End file.
